I LIBRARY m CONGRESS. # 



^ _ , - ^ 

f UxNITED STATES 01 AMKHICA.J 



'M 



LINGERING SOUNDS 



;;A. 



FROM A 



Broken Harp, 



BY 

Mrs. E. R. wells. 

Edited by her husband, Rev. G. C. Wells. 



How I long, how I long to be there, 
Reclining by life's crystal stream. 

All free from earth's toilings and care, 
Without a veil dimming between. 




ALBANY: 

S. R. GRAY, PUBLISHER. 
1869. 



> 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year of our Loi^d one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-nine, by 

GEORGE C. WELLS, 

in the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of 

New York. 



WEED, PARSONS & CO., 

PRINTERS AND STEREOTYPERS, 

ALBANY, NEW YORK. 



PREFACE. 



This volume is published in accordance with the 
author's design. 

It was a subject of much thought and conversation 
during the last few weeks of her life, to collect and 
revise her writings, published and unpublished, and 
give them to the public in book form. 

Stricken down suddenly by the hand of death, no 
opportunity was afforded for them to pass under the 
revision of her own hand ; but they are given in the 
best form in which they could be arranged, as a memo- 
rial to her friends, and with the hope and belief that 
they will promote the cause of Christ. 
' The reader should understand that the articles were 
^Y^tten at different periods, and this will account for 
any little discrepancy that may appear, in describing 
the condition of the Church. 



G. C. WELLS. 



Albany, June, 1869. 



INTRODUCTION. 



"lingering sounds from a broken harp." 

The significance of this title will be felt by the many 
hearts, that in all parts of this land have vibrated so 
often to the tender or the stirring sounds that have 
rung out from its strings, as they were swept by the 
breath of the Lord. 

Sometimes with sweet and pathetic cadence discours- 
ing the song of Jesus' love ; then with keen and clear 
perception of the terrors of the Lord, sounding out the 
notes of alarm, telling of righteousness arfd a judgment 
to come. 

Sometimes with soft and tender accents persuading 
the poor wanderer to come back to his Father's house ; 
and anon with tones of startling power, warning the 
sinner to flee from wrath, and fiery indignation. 

Sometimes with the voice of melody stirring up the 
deepest emotions of love, and gratitude, and praise ; 
then ^^ raised on devotion's lofty wing," transporting the 
whole being away to ^^ the home of the soul." 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

But the Harp is broken ! and its shattered strings, as 
they were rudely sundered by the arrow of the Destroyer, 
pierced many a loving heart, and inflicted a wound that 
can only be healed by the balm of Gilead, and the 
Physician there. 

Faith only can solve the mystery of this dark dispen- 
sation. 

While 

^^ Nahtre mourns a cruel blow — 
Faith assures it is not so ; 
Nature tells a dismal story — 
Faith has visions full of glory; 
Nature stops at Jordan's tide — 
Faith beholds the other side ; 
Oh ! let Faith victorious be, 
Let it reign triumphantly.'* 

Widely known as was the talented and beloved author 
of this little volume, she needs no introduction to the 
Christian public, nor is it necessary to speak in detail 
of her peculiar talents and power ; and yet the heart of 
Christian friendship, a friendship born of God, and nur- 
tured by the dews of the Spirit, in the path of loving 
sei-vice for Christ, prompts to a brief tribute of affection- 
ate remembrance, as well as an ascription of praise to 
Him, who gave to His church this brilliant and beautiful 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

light ; to such a wide circle of devoted friends the privi- 
leges and blessings that came to them through her 
loving ministry; and to her husband and children such 
an invaluable possession, such precious memories. 

Elvenah C. Raymond was born in the town of Rensse- 
laerville, N. Y., October 3, 1826. Endowed by nature 
with a keen and vigorous intellect, and ever inclined to 
improve to the utmost her intellectual advantages, her 
mental powers developed with great rapidity, and she early 
exhibited talents of a very high order. But it was not till 
at the age of thirteen, when she was made the subject 
of regenerating grace, that she had any conception of 
the evils of the unrenewed heart, or the infinite price 
that was necessary to redeem a soul from eternal death. 
Then, taught by the Spirit, and inspired by a loving 
gratitude, she was led to see the true value of the talents 
committed to her, and to lay them all upon the altar, a 
gift holy and acceptable to God, her reasonable service. 

Henceforth she was not her own ; and with unswerv- 
ing fidelity she sought to use every power for the glory of 
God, the advancement of Christ's cause. 

With a temperament ardent and impulsive, with an 
imagination highly excitable, with affections intense and 
strong, she was the subject of peculiar temptations, and 
was often brought into circumstances calculated to shake 



Vlll IXTRODUCTIOX. 

the foundations of her faith : but through all, religion 
triumphed, and she was held by the grace of God, 
'^ true as the needle to the pole." 

She was married in her eighteenth year to the Rev. 
G. C. Wells, of the Troy Conference of the ^Methodist 
Episcopal Church. As the wife of a minister of the 
Gospel, she found ample scope for the spirit of con- 
secration and activity that pervaded her whole being. 
She was qualified in a ^-ery marked degree to be a 
helper to her husband. To aid him in public exhortation, 
in prayer, in singing, in leading the class, was to her a 
privilege and delight ; while, in the language of another, 
''the rare gifts of her cultured mind, her pleasing man- 
ners, her ready utterance, her power in song, her unc- 
tion in prayer, and above all her intimate communion 
with God," gave her an almost marvelous power over 
the hearts of the people. 

It is scarcely possible for those who have never listened 
to her, to conceive the wonderful influence she exerted 
in this department of service for Christ. In camp 
meetings she impressed every one with the conviction 
that the Lord had specially chosen her, as the channel 
through which He would convey His messages of love 
or wrath ; and as a consequence her presence was per- 
sistently sought on such occasions. She was deeply 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

impressed with a sens.e of her responsibiUty in that 
direction, and so strong was the conviction of dtity that 
she was ready to sacrifice personal ease and comfort, and 
the approbation and wishes of friends, that she might 
follow, what to her was the clear leading of the Spirit. 
Certainly God set to her labors the seal of His approba- 
tion, as was attested by the abundant fruit she reaped. 
Memory will go back and gather up many a scene 
from these feasts of tabernacles, where her loved form, 
and her stirring words will stand out the most attractive 
objects, and Oh ! how many will mourn, as this year 
they come up to worship, that she lies now 

'' Beneath the low green tent, 
Whose curtains never upward swing." 

But it was as a religious writer that she was most 
extensively known, and her influence felt and acknowl- 
edged. Here her rare mental gifts found their fullest 
development ; and this volume, containing a few of the 
articles that have emanated from her pen, some of which 
have been published in the papers and periodicals of her 
church, will be hailed with delight as presenting in a 
permanent form thoughts so profitable and precious. 

The style of her prose writings is peculiarly searching 
and exhaustive, and whatever the subject, she handles 



X INTRODUCTION. 

it with a vigor and thoroughness, that leaves httle room 
for controversy. 

Warmly attached to the polity and doctrines of her 
church, her writings were strongly denominational, and 
she was ever ready to defend or impart the truth, as she 
received it from the teaching of the word of God. 
There are a large number in the Methodist church, who 
can trace their increased zeal for her prosperity, their 
deepened convictions of duty, and their solemn purposes 
to walk in the way of faith and holiness, to the influence 
of her writings. 

The last complete article she ever wrote, '^ Spiritual 
Preparation," bears the impress of divine inspiration, 
and comes to the church with special appeal, as from 
the '^ Border Land." 

An unfinished manuscript on ^^ Woman's Work for 
the Fallen," has a sacred and tender interest, as indi- 
cating the subject that occupied her last active hours. 
Changing her place of residence very frequently, in con- 
formity to the usages of her church, as the Pastor's wife, 
she was prevented identifying herself with public benevo- 
lent enterprises ; hence her strength was mainly expended 
in mental and religious labors in her own church. As 
Secretary of the Troy Conference Ladies' Centenary Asso- 
ciation, to which she was elected during this memorial 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

year of American Methodism, she exhibited marked 
abihty, discharging its duties with all the characteristic 
zeal and energy of her nature. But the last year of her 
life, manifestly under the direction of Providence, she 
was drawn into a work of sympathy and love for the 
fallen of her own sex. Into this peculiarly difficult, but, 
as she felt, imperative and Christ-like work, she entered 
with all her accumulated experience and with all the 
enthusiasm of her nature. Here she developed the most 
remarkable executive power, and as the Secretary of the 
Board of Managers, exerted great influence with her 
associates. Here, too, her beautiful catholic spirit was 
exhibited ; and strong as were her denominational 
preferences, she merged all in her intense desire to save 
souls ; and labored with her christian sisters of various 
names, in the most delightful harmony. 

It was given to her in a remarkable degree to present 
truth clearly and forcibly, and never was that power 
exerted with greater earnestness and fidelity than in 
dealing with those poor erring ones. The memory of 
those appeals, and the prayers poured from her heart, 
burdened with intense longings for their salvation, can 
never be effaced. 

But, in an hour when we thought not, the messenger 
came. Neither exalted talents, rare gifts, rich experi- 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

ence, eminent piety, peculiar adaptation to labor, loving 
friends, or the needs of a perishing world, could avail to 
keep her here, for her work was done, her warfare was 
accomplished — her mansion was prepared, her jeweled 
coronal w^as ready, and Jesus came according to His 
promise to receive her to Himself; to higher service; 
to holier associations ; to purer joys. 

Four days of intense anguish, of such a character as 
to preclude all communication with the loved ones 
around her, who in the depth of their sympathy would 
gladly have shared her sufferings, — four days for the 
final trial of faith and patience, passed without a mur- 
mur, or an expression of distrust, and then, on Sabbath 
evening, in the City of Albany, N. Y., June 6th, 1869, 
she laid down* her burden, and went up to receive her 
glorious inheritance. But as she passed away, 

''' The door through which she vanished 
Closed with a jar — and left us here alone j 
We stand without, forlorn and banished. 
Longing to follow where our loved one's gone. 

^' Gone home ! gone home ! O, human-hearted Saviour, 
Give us a balm to soothe our heavy woe ; 
And if Thou wdlt — in tender, pitying favor. 
Hasten the time Avhcn we may rise and go." 

^ * * * ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ 
Albany, N. Y. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Preface -- -_-_-__ iii 

Introduction ------- v 

Soul Discipline - - - - - --I 

The Unity of Christian Graces - - - - 3 

Look and Live - - - - - - -11 

Mission of the Meth. E. Church - - - 15 

Our Centennary Mission - - - - - 31 

Is Christianity Losing its Power - - - - 33 

What is it to be a Christian - - - - - 47 

Consecration - - - -- - - 59 

Soul Breathings -------69 

The Last Idol 71 

Salvation; its Extent and Results - - - - 79 

The Old Way ------- 85 

Old Fashioned Singing - - - - - - S7 

Holiness without Power ----- 95 

Piety in Old Age ------- 103 

Thoughts on Prayer - - - - -- iii 

Earnest Covetings -- - -- - -119 

The Widow's Son - - - - - - 125 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Light in Darkness - - - - -- -127 

Christian Integrity - - - - - -129 

The Frugal Christian - -- - - -131 

Revival Incidents * - - - - - - 139 

Secret Prayer - -. - - * - - -153 

Light Ahead - - - - -- -165 

Golden Wedding - - - - - - -171 

Covetousness - - - - - - -175 

The Times - - - - - - - -183 

Latent Power - - - - - - -193 

Woman's Work among the Fallen - - - - 207 

Lines - - - - - -221 

Spiritual Preparation for Labor - - - - 223 

Over There -------- 253 



A BROKEN HARP. 



SOUL DISCIPLINE. 



FATHER, in deep humility 
Confessing, 
Unworthy, e'en to come to thee 

For blessing. 



In folly oft, my sins have caused 

My wounding, 

Else, love instead had oftener been 

Abounding. 

But Jesus died I and on His Love 

Depending, 

With watchfulness and urgent prayer 

Ascending, 

Now I accept the heavy load 

I'm bearing, 

Rejoicing that it is His Cross 

I'm sharing. 
1 



LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

The rod I kiss, — the Cross I bear, 

Each needing. 

For even: now I own my much 

Unheeding. 

Henceforth, whene'er my heart almost 

Is faihng, 

Then plead for me^ in tender love 

Availing. 

Thus discipline shall be with grace 

Abounding, 

1 richer far — the stripes and Cross 

My crowning. 

But should'st thou grant the sun and sky 

Unclouding, 

Should'st mark a pleasant pathway for 

My treading, 

Then, to my heart may I Thy Cross 

Still pressing, 

Prove tender love, as discipline, 

A blessing. 



Written oue week before the Author's decease. 



A BROKEN HARP. 



THE UNITY OF CHRISTIAN GRACES. 

T OVE is the foundation of all religion, its 
^ — ' only basis ; without it, the superstructure 
totters and falls ; with it, it is as enduring as the 
everlasting hills. Love to God and our neigh- 
bor is the chief element of Christianity, the soul 
and spirit of all piety, the Alpha and Omega of 
all true religion. Towering in its grandeur it 
stands alone, the embodiment of Divinity, for 
God is love. 

All the Christian graces revolve around love, 
the sun — and draw their light and beauty from 
its refulgent rays. They cannot exist without 
it ; and where its beams are shed, there every 
other fruit of grace luxuriates in constant fresh- 
ness. The Apostle enumerates them, '^ Love, 
Joy, Peace, Long- Suffering, Gentleness, Good- 
ness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance ; '' but the 
one first mentioned combines them all. The 



4 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

rest are but the exponents or representations 
of Love, in varied forms, but all enhancing the 
beauty and glory of this one great source or 
principle. In these defined forms it is beautiful 
to trace Love beaming forth from every exhibi- 
tion of the other graces, as the great motive 
power, the all-pervading spirit. 

We see it welling out from overflowing Joy, 
It is the stream, dancing in very gladness, gush- 
ing forth in torrents of blessedness ; swelling 
and enlarging into the broad and mighty river, 
impetuously rushing on to the ocean of divine 
Love. It is Love luxuriating in excess of bhss, 
and glorying in its exhaustlessness. Yea, more, 
it is Love triumphing. It is Love viewing the 
promises, so broad, so exceedingly precious, so 
enduring, that exultingly he sings and shouts. 
It is Love in the heart of fallen but renewed 
man, meditating upon the perfections of God- 
head, and at thought that the All-wise, All-good 
and All-glorious One is his Father; crying out 
in ecstacy, ''My Lord and my God.'' 



A BROKEN HARP. 5 

And if Joy is Love triumphing, Peace is Love 
resting. It is Love with folded pinion on downy 
couch reposing. It is Love in green pastures 
and beside still waters, sweetly reclining. It is 
Love shed abroad in the heart, filling with quie- 
tude and holy content. It is that great calm 
which the soul feels when it views the atonement 
wrought out by blood-shedding, as its own. 
Ah, it is the quiet of the mighty deep, whose 
waters no more cast up mire and dirt, for Jesus 
says, ''Peace, be still." 

The Apostle speaks of '' enduring hardness 
as good soldiers ; " then is not Long Stcffering, 
Love enduring ? Ah ! it is Love baring its 
bosom to the storm. It is the bruised reed 
bending, but not breaking, beneath its load. It 
is the shorn lamb with unattempered wind, 
ceasing its moan. It is the stricken one kissing 
the hand that holds the rod. It is the sheep 
before her shearers, opening not her mouth. It 
is giving the cheek to the smiters, answering 
not again. It is forgiving seventy times seven, 



6 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

even as Christ forgives us. Oh, it is following 
the Master in being a man of sorrows and 
acquainted with grief, if so be, God is glorified. 
Yea, it is following Him to prison and to death, 
for the love we bear toward Him. Ah ! it is 
following him '^ fully " until He says, '' It is 
enough, enter into thy rest." 

Gentleness^ Dr. Clark says, is ^^ benignity, 
affability." Then is it not Love in Society ? 
It is love with cordial hand grasping his fellow. 
It is the beaming eye that speaks of a heart 
glowing with affection's flame. It is that ten- 
derness which fears to offend, and smooths the 
asperities of life with a softened hand. It is 
that deHcacy of feeHng that studies another's 
wish and another's taste. It is that refinement 
of heart that prompts to true courtesy and quiet 
Christian affability. It is that unassuming 
bestowment of favors that seems to say the 
giver is the obliged one, and not the receiver. 
It is ''being kindly affectioned one toward 
another, with brotherly kindness, forgiving one 



A BROKEN HARP. 7 

another in love/' Oh ! it is a matchless grace ! 
one that Paul does not apply to himself; but 
he says, ^^ I beseech you by the gentleness of 
Christ." 

Goodness, says the same author, *' is the dis- 
position to do good to the souls and bodies of 
men/* Then is it not Love bearing burdens ? — 
Love loading itself with blessing and scattering 
with liberal hand ? — Love burdened with kind- 
nesses and dispensing to all who need ? — Love 
in the highways and hedges compelling by gen- 
tleness the wanderer's return ? — Love spread- 
ing the banquet, and inviting all to come ; yea^ 
seeking the houseless and homeless, and making 
him his honored guest? Is it not feet for the 
lame, and eyes to the blind ; food to the fam- 
ishing, and medicine to the dying ? Love at the 
''Five Points," and on the lone mountain; in 
the prison and in the camp, in the hospital and 
in the cell ; crossing oceans and burning deserts ; 
surrounded by heathen children and savage 
men ; seeking and saving that which was lost. 



8 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Oh ! it is Love everywhere, going about Hke 
the Master, '' doing good/* 

Faith is Love amid conflicts and clouds. It 
is Love when the voice of the Commander is 
lost amid the war of elements and clash of arms, 
firm at his post. It is Love pursuing duty's 
path amid cloud and tempest, without moon or 
stars. It is Love, constant at the helm in dark- 
est night, when surges rise and billows roll, and 
no beacon is seen to guide his bark. Ah ! it 
is Love offering Isaac and hiding Moses. It is 
Love crossing the Red sea with steady tread, 
and '^ choosing affliction with the people of 
God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for 
a season.'* It is Love approaching the heated 
furnace, confident the *' form of the fourth will 
be there ; " and with unblanched cheek enter- 
ing the den of lions, assured of safety. It is 
Love daring to do right in face of prisons, 
fagots, chains and death. It is Love never 
flinching, never failing, when all is periled and 
firmness most needed. It is Luther at Worms, 



A BROKEN HARP. 9 

and Wesley shut out of the English churches. 
It is being singular for Christ's sake, when devo- 
tion is costly, and zeal occasions great reproach. 
Yea, more; it is Jesus in the garden and on the 
cross. O, it is leaving all and following Christ, 
not knowing whither we go. It is to us in 
place of sight, ^' the substance of things hoped 
for, the evidence of things not seen," and pro- 
duces the same effect. 

Meekness is Love humbling itself; sitting at 
the saints' feet; in honor preferring another. 
It is lowliness of mind and quietness of spirit. 
It is patience having its perfect work; and 
humility unconscious of its dignity and worth. 
It is Moses deaf to the flatteries of kingly cour- 
tiers, and calmly listening to the clamorings and 
murmurings of an ungrateful band. It is Jesus 
led as a lamb to the slaughter, giving '' His cheek 
to those that plucked off the hair," that He 
might give gifts to men. O, it is the sum of 
gentleness, goodness, patience and humility. It 
is an unrivalled grace, rarely perfected, and has 



lO LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

its embodiment only in the 7neek lamblike Son 
of God. 

Tejfipermice is Love denying self. It is Love 
subduing passion, and controlling carnal desire. 
It is slaying appetite, and crucifying the flesh. 
It is Love with closed eye to things forbidden, 
and deafened ear to pleasure's syren song. It 
is keeping the body under subjection as unto 
Christ. It is Love unmoved by the ''lust of 
the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride 
of life." It is refusing idols' meat, and subsist- 
ing upon pulse. It is living as Christ lived, 
devoid of luxuries and pomp. It is in '' all 
things" copying the Master. 



A BROKEN HARP. II 



LOOK AND LIVE. 

FATHER, my soul is struggling to do thy will; 
It hears thy voice, and fain would follow 
All its leadings ; but a power unseen 
Controls it oft, and leads astray. 
I turn me to thy word for help 
And hear its legal voice in tones 
Of solemn truth declare, " Cursed 
Is every one that continueth not 
In ALL the things written in the law 
To do them " — then despair with raven wing 
Settles gloomily o'er my soul, and crushes hope. 

I hie me to the place of prayer, 

The place once hallowed oft by holy joys 

And blest communings ; but the tempter 

Hath hither come, and made the soul's 

Sanctuary all prevalent with dampsomeness, 

And unbelief My prayers are but the cold 

Utterances of a rationalistic faith. 

And leave me farther still, from God and hope. 



12 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

To Zion's courts my steps now tracing 
That Israel's God may meet me there ; 

By faith all-potent, ail-prevailing, 
My soul escapes the fowler's snare. 

But Zion's lamps are burning dimly, 
Her altar-fires so near consumed : 

Her censer's incense pure and holy 
Is feebly wafted o'er the gloom. 

Alas ! the footsteps of the Master 
Are seldom heard along its aisles : 

The tinkling bells from priestly vestments 
Can never more my heart beguile. 

My soul aweary, sick, and fainting, 
Turns in upon itself for strength, 

There sin and doubt are deeply tainting, 
It cries aloud, No Hope, No Help. 

But hark ! a voice from yonder mountain, 
" Look unto me and be ye saved.'* 

Ah ! now I see the flowing fountain 
Of Life and Bliss from Jesus' side. 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 3 

My soul is washed from all pollution, 

It bathes afresh in Siloa's flood 
And gladly now fulfills its mission, 

And cries, " Behold the Lamb of God." 



A BROKEN HARP. 1$ 



MISSION OF THE METHODIST E. CHURCH. 

A T the time God brought into the Hght of a 
•^ -^ Bible Christianity the Wesleys of England, 
the ponderous mechanism of the Church seemed 
to possess a limited omnipotence in executing 
God's designs ; but, without impelling power 
or hidden life, it was feeble as an infant. Dr. 
Stevens, in his history of Methodism, says, 
'' The decayed state of the English Church was, 
in fine, the cause, direct or indirect, of most 
of the infidelity of the age, both at home and 
abroad. Arianism and Socinianism, taught by 
such men as Clarke, Priestly, and Whiston, had 
become fashionable among the best English 
thinkers. The higher classes laughed at piety, 
and prided themselves on being above what 
they called its fanaticism ; the lower classes 
were grossly ignorant, and abandoned to vice ; 



l6 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

while the Church, enervated by a universal 
decline, was unable longer to give countenance 
to the downfallen cause of truth/' This gene- 
ral decline had reached its extremity when 
Wesley and his coadjutors appeared. " It was,'* 
to use his own words, ''just at the time when 
we wanted little of filling up the measure of 
our iniquities, that two or three clergymen of 
the Church of England began vehemently to 
call sinners to repentance." His own testi- 
mony is emphatic to the irreligion of the times. 
*' What," he asks, '' is the present characteristic 
of the English nation ? It is ungodliness : un- 
godliness is our universal, our constant, our 
peculiar character." 

He is sustained in his opinion by Watts, 
Archbishop Seeker, Butler, Southey, Leighton, 
and others. That the Church needed renova- 
tion, and the world a practical exhibit of the 
power of the gospel, all admit. But listen to 
his own views in reference to the design of 
God: ''In 1729, two young men in England, 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 7 

reading the Bible, saw they could not be saved 
without holiness ; followed after it, and incited 
others so to do. In 1737, they saw likewise 
that men were justified before they were sancti- 
fied ; but still holiness was their object. God 
then thrust them out to raise a holy people." 

There was no necessity for another church 
organization ; God had churches enough to con- 
vert the world, had they possessed the spirit of 
those who assembled in the upper room. No 
necessity for another order of ministers ; he had 
enough whose priestly vestments proclaimed 
their holy calling, had they ministered only 
in the things of the altar. No necessity for 
another class of teachers ; for the mantle of the 
prophets rested upon the shoulders of enough 
to proclaim to a world the news of the risen 
Jesus, had they been faithful to their holy mis- 
sion. But, alas ! he no longer walked amid the 
golden candlesticks. His footsteps died in the 
distance, and the tinkling of the bells that hung 
to his priestly robe was no more heard within 



l8 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

his sanctuaries. The thunder- tones of Sinai 
were hushed to whispers, and the melting strains 
of Calvary died upon the heedless gale. The 
Head of the Church will have holy messengers 
to proclaim *' glad tidings and good will to 
men." He will have a people whose delight is 
in the law of the Lord. When, by love of 
popular favor, or a disrelish to Bible purity, his 
prophets prophesy smooth things, and his peo- 
ple love to have it so, then he raises up instru- 
mentalities which result in purification, or he 
leaves them to teach false oracles, and calls 
those who will proclaim the word he gives them. 
His design to save a world cannot be frustrated 
by formalism or impiety. 

God has given us, as Methodists, a peculiar 
mission. Our founder early perceived it, and 
gave himself wholly to the work. Our history 
is corroborative of the justness of his percep- 
tion as to its nature^ and our future is deter- 
mined by our strict adherence to the Heaven- 
ordained means for its extensions. We are a 



A BROKEN HARP. I9 

people of one work — to raise up holy men and 
women upon the earth : we have no other. But 
when we become '' like the nations around us ;" 
when our distinctive features are lost ; when we 
incorporate human policy in our efforts ; when, 
glorying in our strength, we '' number Israel," 
and seek to become a great people, — then 
'' Ichabod " will be written upon our walls, and 
God, our God, will remove himself from us. 

The doctrines which the Wesley s taught were 
so pure, so eminently scriptural, that, during the 
lapse of time, most of their followers have sought 
no change or modification. Never^ since the 
days of primitive Christianity, have the doc- 
trines relating to spiritual life been so distinctly 
defined, or so positively insisted upon, as among 
us. The doctrines of faith, justification, regen- 
eration, sanctification, and the witness of the 
Spirit, are characteristics of Methodistic the- 
ology. Not that other churches have not some 
of them ; but we insist upon them as the privi- 
lege, consequently the duty, of all. 



20 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

But pure doctrine will not make a holy 
church. It must have its embodiment in its 
members, — the living representatives of the 
practicability of living godly in Christ Jesus. 
To have the doctrine of justification by faith 
incorporated in our creed, and we living in con- 
demnation ; to believe '^ the blood of Jesus 
Christ cleanseth from all sin," and yet living in 
the defilement of natural depravity ; to affirm 
that God attests by the conscious witness of the 
Spirit to every degree of grace in the heart, and 
yet have no positive knowledge that grace reigns 
within, — is to deny the power of our holy 
religion, make it weak and inefficient, the colors 
of our standard to trail in the dust, and God 
dishonored. 

We begin now to perceive our mission. It 
is, first, individually to practice what we believe ; 
to bring out from the Bible and our book of dis- 
cipline the doctrines of the cross, lettering them 
upon our hearts, daguerrotyping their principles 
upon our lives. Until we do this, we are mani- 



A BROKEN HARP. 21 

kin Methodists, and unworthy of the name. 
But all who are true to that calling, renounce the 
world, and put on Christ. Having the graces 
of the Spirit implanted, they '' go on unto per- 
fection ;" knowing the joys of pardoned sin, they 
pant to bring sinners to the cross. And here we 
arrive at the next peculiarity of our mission. 

When the doors of the English churches were 
closed upon the Wesleys, they turned to the 
streets of the metropolis, the coal-mines of 
Kingswood, and the highways and hedges of 
the surrounding country, compelling sinners to 
repentance. Like their Master, their message 
was p7'e- eminently to the poo7\ As then, the 
poor had the gospel preached to them. This 
was the crowning glory of all the Saviour's 
works. His followers were from the lowly : a 
few fishermen and Galilean women numbered 
most of his converts. The houseless, homeless 
Nazarene, the man of the seamless garment, 
was himself poor. He wrought at the bench 
as an artisan, and in the privations of poverty 



2 2 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

passed his entire life ; thus dignifying this lowly 
vale, and proving himself one of the people. 

The masses are poor ; and a system of religion 
which is unadapted to them, Jesus Christ never 
instituted ; and a Church which does not, in her 
entire economy, embrace largely adaptedness to 
them, excites the disapprobation of God, and 
fails to accomplish its true mission. Jesus 
Christ's religion does not refuse to save the 
rich, but oftener exerts its power upon those 
who have nought of this world; it does not 
pass by the princely mansion, but oftener takes 
up its abode in the hut of the humble cottager. 
He said with a terrible emphasis, '' How hardly 
shall they that have riches enter into the king- 
dom of heaven !" and added, with a significance 
inspiring and triumphant, that '' He has chosen 
the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and 
heirs of the kingdom." 

As a church, our success mainly has been 
among the lower classes ; and this is our glory y 
this oitr crown of rejoicing. It is no mean 



A BROKEN HARP. 23 

honor to have given instrumentally to them 
peace and salvation ; to have caused the prodi- 
gal to return to his father's house, and the out- 
cast and abandoned to become fellow-citizens 
with the saints. This is sufficient glory for us. 
Let this, then, be our only boast ; and we will 
wait, as a church, for our proper recognition 
until the books are opened. 

But are we fulfilling our mission ? are we to 
the utmost of our ability answering the end of 
our organization ? or are we adopting measur- 
ably the modus operandi of others ? Alas for 
us when we forget our calling; when we forsake 
the masses to seek the few ; when our ministry 
prefer the people to come to them, rather than 
carry the gospel to their very doors ; when they 
forsake the schoolhouses and private dwellings, 
the highways and byways of our land, seeking 
the lost, and confine their labors to the pulpit ! 
Alas for us when towering steeples and cush- 
ioned pews shall exclude the humble from the 
preached Word, and when a jewelled gospel, 



24 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

wreathed in flowers, shall fall on velvet ears, 
instead of the burning, subduing power of Bible 
truth ! 

That the outward appliances of the Church 
are mighty and vast, is true. At thought of 
her Missionary, Bible, Tract, and Sunday school 
operations, every Christian heart burns and 
bounds with holy joy. But, notwithstanding 
all this, does she meet the demands of the 
times ? or do the results keep pace with the 
increased appliances ? Is there not needed 
something which nothing outward can supply? 
Is she not wanting in a vital point ? Not that 
she is inefficient ; but would not increased power 
hasten the day of victory ? In view of the 
earnestness of the age, the fewer obstacles and 
the increased means of doing good, will the 
same ratio of success with that of our fathers 
leave us guiltless before the Judge ? 

What though our machinery be perfect in all 
its parts; what though we present our array 
before our foes, outnumbering any former pe- 



A BROKEN HARP. 25 

riod ; what though our Hberahty be increased, 
our church edifices more numerous and costly, 
our denominational academies and colleges mul- 
tiplying, our press deluging the land, and all 
the apparatus of the Church more complete and 
extensive than ever: is this answering fully the 
design of Heaven ? Ought we not, in view of 
all this, to number converts by thousands where 
now we number tens ? Would we not, did we 
all possess the spirit of our fathers ? If '' one 
can chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand 
to flight," what might not the people called 
Methodists do, did they all possess the mind of 
Christ ? Oh, we should be abased before God, 
and cry mightily for his mercy ! Holding a 
faith purer, having a system in its adaptation to 
the salvation of the world more perfect, and 
outnumbering any other people, and yet moving 
at this sluggish pace ! The Lord forgive us ! Is 
it not child's play at which we toil ? Are we 
not '' making believe " religion? If Pentecostal 
times were only the ushering-in of the Spirit's 



26 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

dispensation, what may we not expect after the 
lapse of nearly two thousand years ? Father, 
forgive us ! Do we yet know more than 
the alphabet of this great salvation ? What 
does it do for us, and what do we do, because 
of professing to possess it? Do not our in- 
creased light and privileges render us culpable 
unless we possess a higher evangelism, and 
exhibit a purer life-gospel, than others ? 

This is a memorial year for Methodism. We 
pause, and exclaim, '^ What hath God wrought !" 
It is fitting we present an offering upon the 
altars of the Church worthy our history and 
prospective power. Already from the highest 
watch-towers have sounded the clarion notes of 
mighty advance, and our missionary appropri- 
ation is a million for this jubilant year ! The 
centenary bugle-blast rings out fresh and clear 
its demand for millions more ; and the Church 
with joyful certainty responds, ^^The offering 
shall be so vast as to be monumental !" This 
is well : it is glorious ! May our extremest 



A BROKEN HARP. 27 

hope be fully met ! But shall this be all? Have 
we no more fitting offering for the Lord our 
Maker ? Is silver and gold his highest demand ! 

We think the first and special aim should be 
an increase of spirititality , and an inqnhy after 
the old patJis, Here is the need of the Church, 
here the hiding of her power. Just so far as 
she has forsaken her peculiarities in doctrine 
and experience, so far has she been shorn of her 
strength ; just so far as she has ceased to employ 
the tactics of her earlier history, so far has she 
failed of success. Her peculiar doctrines, expe- 
rience, and usages are as adapted to these times 
as to those of our fathers. Employed with 
like spirit and devotion, they would bring like 
results. This would give us back the true, 
Methodistic, missionary power which grasps and 
moulds all within its influence. Should we 
possess this, the triumphs of the gospel would 
be our memorial. 

Let, then, our standard-bearers rear aloft our 
distinguishing feature of doctrine, '' Holiness 



28 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

unto the Lord; " let its colors drape every pul- 
pit and family-altar throughout our borders; 
and let the altars of the Church witness fresh 
consecrations, and baptisms of power. Let our 
chief ministers and officiaries, like flaming her- 
alds at the conferences, jubilees, and camp- 
meetings, lead on the Church to this baptism ; 
and, sure as God is true, so sure will the demon- 
strations of the Spirit's power be mightier and 
more convincing than in the days of our fathers, 
our altars more crowded, and triumphant songs 
multiplied by thousands. 

But alas for us if the leaders of our Zion fail 
to arouse the Church to her calling and destiny, 
if the gatherings to secure ftmds be more 
numerous and enthusiastic than those which 
relate to the spiriticality of Zion, and if the 
appeals for money be louder than those which 
call sinners to repentance ! Oh ! would the 
Church but come up to her standard of piety, 
would she practically demonstrate the principles 
of her Book of Discipline, what a revolution in 



A BROKEN HARP. 29 

the moral world would ensue ! Thus robing 
herself with earthquake-power, and winging 
her way with lightning-speed, soon would be 
heard the song, '' Now has come salvation, and 
the tabernacle of God is with man." Bowing 
with one impulse, and burning with common 
zeal, a world redeemed would be the stupendous 
achievement of a near future. 



A BROKEN HARP. 3 1 



OUR CENTENARY MISSION. 

HAIL ! all Hail ! this year of glory, 
Year of Zion's jubilee; 
Year when we recount the story 
Of the few wdio cross'd the sea, 
Reared the standard of salvation. 
Preached it boldly, ///// and free. 
Lo ! an host, with songs and offerings, 
Celebrate this jubilee. 



If we cannot give our thousands 

To the Centenary fund, 

We can give our dimes and dollars — 

Parents, children, every one. 

All can show their love to Jesus, 

And to Methodism true, 

For to us she's been a Mother, 

And we gladly yield her due. 



32 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Here, upon her sacred altars, 
We our common offerings bring ; 
Here we give our hearts and purses, 
Both her due — and now we sing 
Of her trials and her triumphs, 
Of her victories boldly won. 
She has waged a glorious warfare, 
But her course is just begun. 



By the next Centennial birth-year 
She will be ten million strong, 
And her children widely scattered 
O'er the earth, prolong the song. 
Of her triumphs o'er the heathen 
All the earth her powers proclaim. 
For she'll conquer from sun's rising 
To the setting of the same. 



A BROKEN HARP. 33 



IS CHRISTIANITY LOSING ITS POWER! 

'^ J ^HIS is a question of moment. In this age 
^ of formalism and impiety, it is well to pause 
and ponder. Is it indeed true that the power 
of the cross is weakened, its potency over the 
heart and life less evident than in apostolic or 
earlier times ? or is its leaven infusing the great 
whole ? and are we hasting to the day of millen- 
nial glory ? 

To the first of these inquiries we direct atten- 
tion. That the outward of religion is honored, 
its apparatus costly and imposing, and its 
mechanism more perfect than in any preceding 
age, is undeniable. That the coffers of the rich 
are opened, and the pence of the poor bestowed 
upon charity, beyond any former precedent, is 
the glory of the age. That, wherever the gos- 
pel is carried, civilization with its blessings 

follows, refinement and intellectuality are ever 
3 



34 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

in its train, none deny. It dignifies and ele- 
vates character : the savage becomes a man ; 
the heathen, a saint. 

But the question arises. Is the change as 
thorough in tJie heart, and as apparent in the 
life, as in for'iner times ? We answer unhesi- 
tatingly in the affirmative. That its power -in 
the churches is crippled, its all-controlling prin- 
ciples in the life hindered, and its inherent 
aggressiveness stayed, by the worldiness and 
lack of devotion, in many of its professed 
friends, is lamentably true. That there are 
departures from the purity and simplicity of the 
gospel most alarming, and a conformity to the 
spirit and policy of the world fearfully appall- 
ing, none will question. That the churches 
are crowded with those who have a name to 
live while they are dead, is undeniable. The 
Pilgrim Fathers are not represented by all their 
sons ; neither are all who preach the gospel 
Wesleys or Asburys, Edwardses or Whitefields. 

But, notwithstanding this, there can be no 



A BROKEN HARP. 35 

degeneracy. Gospel truth is as potent as when 
Peter preached, and three thousand yielded to 
be saved by its power; its principles are as all- 
controlling in the life as when the apostles had 
all things common. To take any other posi- 
tion is to degrade the cross, and bring down 
the power of the Holy Spirit to the accommo- 
dation of a time-serving, formal religionism. 
If our standard come not to this, then it is 
beneath the Bible, and is not gospel-princi- 
pled nor soul-saving. Education and asso- 
ciation do much to refine and elevate human 
nature ; but they never renew it, or assist 
the Holy Spirit in his work. It takes the 
energies of Deity to change a fallen heart ; the 
resources of Omnipotence are taxed to restore 
the image of the Creator in the creature ; and 
fit him for his companionship ; and, when 
renewed, it is evident in all his life. If no 
change is apparent^ none is effected. 

The distinguishing characteristics of New- 
Testament church-members are the same as in 



36 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

the days of the apostles, and also all the marks 
of attachment to the Lord Jesus. Nozv, as 
then, true Christians evince a genuine expe- 
rience of pardon, and renewal in righteousness, 
and bear an unmistakable testimony to a pres- 
ent and conscious salvation, witnessed by the 
Holy Ghost. They come out from the world, 
and are separate from its sins, maxims and 
emblems. They exhibit the spirit of Jesus, 
and copy his example. They are '^ steadfast, 
unmovable, always abounding in the work of 
the Lord." They are a peculiar people, a royal 
priesthood, a chosen generation ; the same in 
all the essentials of a Bible Christianity as those 
who lived and labored in apostolic times. 

That the numbers of the truly devout are 
largely increased beyond any period in the his- 
tory of the Church, can one question ? With 
so general diffusion of the gospel, and such 
universal assent to its truths throughout Chris- 
tendom, is it possible Christ does not reign over 
a territory unrivalled before in the world's his- 



A BROKEN HARP. 37 

tory ? Is not the benevolence of the times 
prompted by increased devotion, and the rapidly 
multiplying missionary stations the result of 
entire consecration ? Yea, verily. The Church, 
in all its departments, was never so restlessly 
active as now ; her great heart never before 
pulsated with such velocity ; nor did ever the 
fires of evangelism burn so brightly upon her 
altars. Inquiry as to the privilege of the 
Christian, and the claims of the higher life, is 
awakened among all denominations. A class 
of literature, such as has characterized no other 
age in its variety and extent, emanates from 
the presses of the various sects — a literature 
replete with fire and power, eminently practi- 
cal, intensely fervid, and highly evangelical : it 
is infusing the spirit of holiness through the 
churches. 

God has always had a people who served 
Him faithfully, and to-day He has His Church 
within the churches. It towers amid them in 
its mightiness, and is the strength and support 



38 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

of all the others. The purity and devotion of 
His Church is the salt that preserves the mass 
from putrefaction, the light that sheds its radi- 
ance on the surrounding darkness. But for the 
few in all the churches who walk with Him in 
white, the organizations calling themselves 
Christ's churches would be without His pre- 
sence. These are they who hold back the 
judgments of God, and bring down blessings 
on barren deserts and thirsty lands. But for 
these, who represent Jesus in their spirit and 
life, God would be without a Church, and the 
world left to rebellion and ruin. There are a 
few, thank God ! everywhere, scattered through 
all the churches, who contend earnestly for the 
faith ; and' these, like the innumerable points in 
the Milky Way, form a bright path from earth 
to glory, and unite in one grand constellation 
of holiness and power. 

We now consider the question. Is the leaven 
of the gospel infusing the great whole ? and 
are we hasting to the day of millennial glory ? 



A BROKEN HARP. 39 

Turn we now to passing events. We have 
fallen upon stirring times : the world is in mo- 
tion ; it heaves beneath tottering empires, and 
rocks with rapidly succeeding revolutions. The 
hearts of all are agitated with strange emotions, 
and restless for the issue of such stupendous 
upturnings. Each looks on from his own pecu- 
liar standpoint, and speculates upon probabili- 
ties. The Christian is not an idle observer, but 
anxiously inquires, ^^Will this retard or hasten 
the triumph of truth ? " With this question 
before us, we glance at some of the more 
prominent events of the few past years'' his- 
tory. 

The Old World has been the theatre of slow 
but progressive revolutions that invite our 
attention. The daring and chivalric leader of 
the Itahans has become the warden of Chris- 
tianity to that classic land, and its partially 
opened doors invite the entrance of the gospel. 
The spirit of Protestantism, which has long 
breathed in whispers in the retired valleys of 



40 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

the Waldenses, has been increasing its tones, 
until, in Luther-Hke voice of power, it pro- 
claims the pope an enemy to Italian freedom 
and prosperity. 

Austria, the king of tyrants, and lover of 
oppression, is compelled, by the resistless force 
of Hungarian liberty, to humiliating conces- 
sions — sure precursors of insatiated demand, 
until her States shall breathe the air of religious 
liberty. 

France has degraded herself by attacks 
upon Protestant liberties long enjoyed; but 
the leaven of a vitalized Christianity in her 
midst is silently working, and converts are 
multiplying among her subjects. Paris alone 
has twenty Protestant churches, and one hun- 
dred and four Protestant clergymen. Her Sun- 
day-school children number two thousand six 
hundred. Her non-allegiance to the pope has 
been discussed in her journals as a prospective 
good, and the emperor named as the head of 
the Galilean Church. Her numerous popular 



A BROKEN HARP. 4^ 

reforms only increase demand ; and, the genius 
of the age calling for religious toleration, she is 
too sagacious long to deny. 

Japan, by her commercial treaties with Chris- 
tianized countries, has taken the first step 
toward the admittance of the religion of these 
nations ; and already the Bible, to a limited 
extent, is circulated among her people. 

Madagascar, whose persecution and martyr- 
dom of the native Christians has been most 
heart-rending, and whose queen's unrighteous 
elevation to the throne, and entire administra- 
tion, has been one of blood, strangely named 
the crown-prince as her successor, he being an 
avowed Christian, and sympathizer with the 
persecuted of his mother's reign ; and who, 
since her death and his promotion, has erected 
Christian temples upon the very places of mas- 
sacre and bloodshed. 

China has long been the theatre of internal 
war; and her subjugation by the rebels, assisted 
by the French and English forces, results in 



42 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

opening more generally her ports to commer- 
cial powers. The rebels, who are the conquer- 
ors, have a theoretic religion, bearing some of 
the distinctive features of the Christian. The 
result cannot be anticipated; and yet, proba- 
bilities are in favor of a more rapid dissemina- 
tion of gospel truth. It is a significant fact, 
that the Pacific Railroad, now constructing, 
brings China to be our western neighbor. 
Who shall tell the mightiness of this fact in the 
evangelization of that strange land ? 

Russia, glorious old Russia, stood out in i86i 
the pride of every philanthropic heart. She 
then reared a pyramid of glory. The monu- 
mental record of the greatness of her emperor 
is written . upon forty million hearts — forty 
million serfs suddenly made men, and standing 
erect as God made them ! All honor to the 
czar forever! The name of Alexander II 
shall never die. If Christ's religion treads 
close upon the heel of freedom, what may we 
not expect ? 



A BROKEN HARP. 43 

Ireland, oppressed and unhappy Ireland, has 
been the subject of a special visitation of grace. 
Her recent revival, with its peculiar manifesta- 
tions, has astonished Christendom, and con- 
founded infidelity. Whether in individual cases 
its effects are permanent or not, it has left its 
testimony, and has become a part of history : 
eternity will reveal results. 

In England, the Church and State union is 
being lessened constantly, and the old estab- 
lished forms less honored ; while -a more stir- 
ring, active piety is being embraced by the 
masses. The dissenting churches of every 
name are increasing in numbers, and the recent 
waning of prejudice against revival movements 
indicates a higher evangelism in the churches. 
Also the popular sermons and lectures to the 
poorer classes evince a spirit of aggression, 
while the missionary operation of the churches 
bespeak an increased consecration to God. 

And what shall we say of our own beloved 
land ? We are dumb with astonishment. Those 



44 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

who had prayed longest and most urgent had 
not hoped to see this day. The dark and 
damning sin that was upon us, that cursed our 
name and made our boasted heritage of Hberty 
a by- word and a hissing, has been wiped out 
by the ministry of blood. And now, with the 
eagerness of elevation, the power of rapid 
acquisition, and the naturally religious charac- 
ter of the emancipated, may we not look for 
the immediate baptism of the Spirit, so that a 
nation enfranchised will be but the prelude to 
a nation elevated and Christian ? 

From the above and other equally astonishing 
events, we glean these facts : that revolutions 
have come to be the events of hours rather 
than generations, and that the world is hasting 
to some wonderful destiny. Almost every 
recent change has been more or less promotive 
of the advance of freedom, civilization and reli- 
gion. To the eye of the Christian, God is at 
work among the nations, overturning, until 
'* He shall come whose right it is to reign." 



A BROKEN HARP. 45 

His great design to bring all nations to the feet 
of Jesus cannot be frustrated, and the times 
indicate the speedy oncoming of the Messiah's 
reign. Already, from the wonderful displays 
of the outpouring of the Spirit in this and 
other lands, we can begin to understand how a 
*^ nation can be born to God in a day." Chris- 
tianity is NOT losing its power. It is diffusive 
as the air of heaven, and life-giving where 
inhaled. Its divinity is asserted by its inherent 
power, and its future triumphs written upon the 
pages of its history. Its all-controUing and 
all-pervading principles will yet be the broad 
platform of the universe, and every tongue con- 
fess its matchless power. Losing its power ! — 
this will be so when Jehovah resigns his throne, 
and Jesus fails to see the travail of his soul, and 
the Holy Spirit acknowledges its inefficiency to 
subdue and save ! Until this occurs, it will go 
on, overpowering and sweeping all idolatries, 
superstitions, errors and unbeliefs into the deeps 
of oblivion by the force of its resistless tide. 



A BROKEN HARP. 47 



WHAT IS IT TO BE A CHRISTIAN ? 

^ I ^HIS is a solemn question. Upon its solu- 
■^ tion depends intimately our future destiny. 
Should we erect the standard too high, we shall 
fail of its attainment ; if we place it too low, it 
will be as fatal as though we rejected the entire 
system of Christianity. How momentous, then, 
the question ! It is linked with our immortahty ; 
it goes connected with our eternity. What is it 
to be a Christian ? All the science of salvation 
centers here ; all the practical results of redemp- 
tion culminate at this point. This settled cor- 
rectly, and its course pursued positively, Jesus 
will see of the travail of his soul, and be satis- 
fied ; but an error here, and all is hopeless ruin. 
The lowest type of a Christian, the babe in 
Christ, is clearly described in Scripture. There 
is no ambiguity in terms, no evasiveness of lan- 
guage, no indirectness of application. Positive 



48 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

assertions, unequivocal principles, and reliable 
tests, are given. Portraitures of character, 
sketched upon the everlasting canvas of Bible 
history by inspired limners, attest to the prac- 
ticability of its principles and precepts. The 
same conditions are made, and provisions 
offered ; the same principles given, and tests 
applied ; the same rewards offered, and pun- 
ishments threatened to all. None are saved 
beneath the fulfillment of its fullest claims, and 
none are lost who comply with its terms. There 
is no necessity for dry speculations, or theologi- 
cal disquisitions, or metaphysical distinctions ; 
for he that runs may read. The simple meaning 
that the Sunday scholar attaches to the plain let- 
ter of the Word, and to the character of a Chris- 
tian, is generally true. The awakened penitent 
sees the way clearly ; for the Spirit writes these 
things on the truly awakened heart. The diffi- 
culty in the settlement of this question is with us. 
We erect false standards, '^ measuring ourselves 
by ourselves;" and God says we are not wise. 



A BROKEN HARP. 49 

What, then, is the Bible standard ? With its 
open pages before us, we can but say that it is 
to be *' freely justified from all things," and to 
be '' renewed in righteousness and true holi- 
ness." To reach our design, we will briefly, in 
the language of our excellent Catechism, say, 
that ''justification is that act of God's free 
grace in which he pardons our sins, and accepts 
us as righteous in his sight, for the sake of 
Christ;" and that "''regeneration is the new 
birth of the soul in the image of Christ, where- 
by we become the children of God." These 
are concomitants : so that every one who is jus- 
tified is also regenerated. Justification places 
us in a new relation — that of favor with God ; 
regeneration in a new state — that of being 
born again, or renewed in righteousness. It 
comes not within our province to defend this 
doctrine, or define it technically, but to show, 
if possible, its practical bearing upon every-day 
life ; what it will do for us, or what it is to be 
saved in the lowest sense ; to be a Christian at 



50 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

all, or in any way meet to be called the children 
of God. 

That the commission of sin is incompatible 
with this state is too palpable to admit of argu- 
ment. The word ''justify " indicates the extent 
of this salvation. God cannot justify sin in his 
creatures. His law must be unbroken by those 
who remain his children. He condemns sin ; 
will not look upon it with any degree of allow- 
ance ; and upon whom his forgiving smile rests 
is no condemnation. To affirm we can trans- 
gress one of the least of his commands, and yet 
be accepted of him, is to say he does at the 
same time forbid and allow sin in his creatures 

— at the same time justify and condemn. '' Sin 
is the transgression of the law : " and the known 
or willful violation of that law is punishable with 
death ; for '' the soul that sinneth, it shall die." 
Mark the phraseology : the soul that sinneth 

— not that committeth many and enormous 
sins, but '' sinneth " — '' it shall die ; '' '' for the 
wages of sin is death." God has no sinning 



A BROKEN HARP. 51 

Christians ; His people are saved from sinning. 
His salvation is fivm sin, not in it. 

But of how many professed Christians it is 
true, they have no such appreciation of the 
standard ! Let such be approached with the 
direct question, '^ Have you now the favor of 
God ? " ^' Does his Spirit now bear a positive, 
unmistakable witness to all your sins being for- 
given? " The wavering, stammering reply would 
but too surely prove the sandy foundation of 
their hopes ; and in many instances frankness 
and conscience would dictate an unequivocal 
assertion that they had no such knowledge. 
And yet the apostle says of those who are jus- 
tified, ''that the Spirit itself beareth witness 
with our spirits that we are born of God." 
Test them and we find that a ''love for the 
brethren," in the ordinary sense, is as firm evi- 
dence as many possess ; although St. John has 
said, " By this we know that we love the chil- 
dren of God, when we love God and keep his 
commandments,'' Past experience is the burden 



52 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

of many a song, the sum total of many a one's 
religion ; though God has said, '' The path of 
the just is as a shining light, that shineth more 
and more unto the perfect day." 

If we are justified at all, we are entirely. 
There is not one sin remaining unforgiven. If 
we are accepted of God at all, we become his 
children : and, if so, we have positive, reliable 
knowledge of the fact ; for the '' Spirit itself 
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the 
children of God." There is no room for doubt. 
It vanishes before the light of conscious experi- 
ence ; and, while we remain in a state of favor, 
we live without sin. If we are in Christ Jesus, 
we have no condemnation : if we have none, it 
is because we do not sin ; for God condemns 
the sinner. When we knowingly or willfully 
violate God's commands, we fall from a state of 
favor, and become aliens, yea, rebels, in his 
dominions. This does not imply great guilt; 
but the mere neglect to do what we know is 
duty, the mere doing what we know or ought 



A BROKEN HARP. 53 

to know, God forbids. '' What ! would you 
assert that we can be one day a Christian, and 
the next a sinner?" We assert that faith in* 
the blood of Jesus will, in a moment, speak all 
our sins forgiven ; and sin committed, of any 
character or degree, wdll, in a moment, sever us 
from the relation of acceptance with God ; and 
only sincere repentance, and, again, acting faith 
in the blood of Jesus, can restore and save us. 
If we neglect this, then are w^e no longer fellow- 
citizens with the saints, though we profess loudly, 
and act the part of loyal subjects every other- 
Avise. Ask that young convert if he can neglect 
duty, and not be shrouded in darkness. Ask 
him if he can commit sin, and not feel the 
reconciled face of his Father turn from him. 
His conscience is tender, and he knows what 
conscious pardon means. Now, does being 
long in the way shield from the detection of 
sin ? Does it give license in its indulgence ? 
Nay, verily. How many in their earlier reli- 
gious history knew what this experience means ! 



54 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

but SO often have they sinned, and so often neg- 
lected duty, that their seared consciences cease 
* to warn. Let such beware : for such a one is 
less a Christian than when first born into the 
kingdom ; less than a babe in Christ. And can 
he be a Christian at all ? We appeal to con- 
science, the word of God, and the judgment- 
day. 

But you say, ''You are describing persons 
professing holiness : we do not profess to live 
without sin.'' Not at all; we are simply defi- 
ning the blessing of justification; what every 
saved Christian heart feels and enjoys. If we 
have not daily communion with God, not merely 
approach by way of prayer, but sensible reveal- 
ments of mercy ; if we have not positive knowl- 
edge of acceptance, and are not growing in 
grace, — then are we unsaved, and classed with 
the unbeliever. There is no other standard for 
the Christian. His is no middle ground. If 
we may sin, and yet be Christians, tell us how 
viiLch ? What may we do that is forbidden, 



A BROKEN HARP. 55 

and yet receive the smile of our Father ? Stand 
up, now, ye that say this path is too narrow, 
and tell us how broad may be the road, and yet 
lead to heaven. How many sins may we com- 
mit, and yet be good loyal subjects ? Who dare 
reply ? Ah ! it is true, we are either saved or 
unsaved ; either in the road to heaven, or in the 
way to perdition. God has not a path for those 
who serve him faithfully^ and another for those 
who profess allegiance, but ^' who do not the 
truth," and these paths leading to the same 
goal. The broad way is traveled directly from 
the doors of our churches throughout Christen- 
dom, and its terminus is none the less terrible. 
The bleeding heart of Jesus is wounded afresh 
in the house of his friends. His cause is lan- 
guishing when millions profess to love it. His 
steps are feeble and fainting amid the taberna- 
cles of his people, because so few wait for his 
coming as those who watch for the morning. 

When Vvdll Zion arise, and be girded with 
strength ? When will her spirituality be com- 



56 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

mensurate with her numerical importance ? 
When will our social gatherings be enlivened 
by the rehearsal of the constant victories of all 
who meet there, and the Church be able to 
make more decided aggressive movements for 
God ? This low state of piety, this practical 
infidelity, this belief that some sins are con- 
sistent with Christian character, is sapping the 
foundations of our faith, crippling our energies, 
and eating like a cancer our life. The pulse of 
Zion beats too feebly, and disease is fastened 
upon her. Oh that the trumpets would give a 
uniform sound ! that the pulpits would fearlessly 
declare the truth in this regard, and show the 
people their transgressions, and Isi'ael their sins ! 
Then would the standard of Christian experi- 
ence and life be where the Bible places it, and 
the enjoyment of the blessing of justification 
become synonymous with an upright walk. 
False hopes thus cut off, their possessors might 
turn to Calvary's blood for life-giving salvation. 
But how difficult to convince such of their true 



A BROKEN HARP. 57 

condition ! Wrapped in the infoldings of secu- 
rity, relying upon a formal devotion, past expe- 
rience, and a love for the Church, their delusion 
awakens the pity of the saved. The prophet 
says, '* Will horses run upon the rock ? Will 
one plough there with oxen ?" Yet this is the 
work of the gospel minister to such : it is un- 
promising, and often unyielding of fruit. It is 
calling to the dry bones of the valley, '' Hear 
ye the word of the Lord !" but stiff and motion- 
less and bleaching they lie, all unheeding the 
voice of the prophet, or the alarm which their 
melancholy state produces upon those who live. 
The breath of God comes not upon them, and 
we fear resurection-power alone can move or 
affect them. The blast of Gabriel, '' Awake, ye 
dead, and come to judgment !" will reach and 
stir them. Would God they would yield to the 
force of truth ; cease to say of Bible conditions, 
*' These are hard sayings ; who can bear them ?" 
and turn from the semblance to the power of a 
living gospel ; taking their position as penitent 



58 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

sinners, seek the renovating power of the Holy 
Ghost! 

Oh, could some melting sound of grace, some 
tender strain of Calvary, some claim of human 
responsibility, some association with the heav- 
enly world, some mysterious providence or visi- 
tation of mercey, reach and save them ! But 
^' if they hear not Moses or the prophets, neither 
will they be pursuaded though one rose from the 
dead." Conscience-driven truth, Sinai-clothed 
law, the uplifted veil of retribution, do not affect 
them. A pen dipped in terror, portraying 
scenes of coming wrath ; a tongue of fire, pro- 
claiming God's eternal vengeance upon the 
ungodly ; a' heart of love dissolving in pity at 
their awful state, — all the apparatus of justice 
and mercy combined is powerless upon them ; 
and we, wondering at their blindness, and hearts 
all bleeding at their delusion, beseech the sparing 
mercy of a just God. 



A BROKEN HARP. 



59 



CONSECRATION. 

TT THEN stipulations were being made for 
the surrender of Collatia to the authority 
and protection of Rome, the question was asked, 
*' Do you dehver up yourselves, the CoUatine 
people, your city, your fields, your bounds, 
your water, your temples, your utensils, all 
things that are yours, both human and divine, 
into the hands of the people of Rome ? " The 
immediate, uncompromising reply was, '^We 
deliver up all/' This is a beautiful illustration 
of the subject proposed for this article. We 
design to note the nature of this work, and the 
distinction between consecration antecedent to 
the reception of the distinct blessings of pardon 
and holiness. 

As to its nature, all agree that it is perfect, 
entire, demanding all. The common accepta- 



6o LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

tion of this word is set apart, and, employed 
religiously, is the giving all we possess to God, 
subject to his will. But this, to many minds, 
is so indefinite, that a brief catalogue of items 
may not be unprofitable. The whole '' spirit, 
soul and body " are laid upon God's altar in 
both cases, and remain there while these bless- 
ings are retained. 

The *' spirit," the immortal principle, the 
source of life to the body and soul, which alone 
possesses the faculty of intelligence, and is 
capable of reasoning and deciding — this prin- 
ciple is given by God, to be employed in inves- 
tigating that only which will be for his glory. 
Thought is subject to Christ in every regard, 
and is exerted only upon those subjects that 
conduce to improvement, elevation and purity. 
That unhallowed curiosity which delights in 
exploring every subject that is presented to the 
mind, merely for love of investigation, is laid 
upon the altar of consecration ; and the '^ spirit " 
submits to '^know nothing save Jesus Christ, 



A BROKEN HARP. 6 1 

and him crucified." It may range the fields 
of purified Hterature, enhghtened science, and 
refined art, for the knowledge thus gained may- 
be subservient to God's cause ; but all worldly 
wisdom, as such, is denied the follower of the 
lowly Nazarene. 

The ''souV the seat of the affections and 
passions, is yielded fully to love what God loves, 
and hate what he hates ; to love him supremely, 
and everything upon which his name is engra- 
ven, with a pure affection. But the ^' love of 
the world and the things of the world " is not 
found in whom is the love of the Father. 
Friends, possessions, ease, reputation, are all 
wiUingly yielded, subordinate to God's will. 
None shall hinder the soul in its race for glory. 

The '^body," this organized system, this 
material framework with which is mysteriously 
connected the '^soul and spirit," and whose 
servant it is, is to be given for God's service. 
The consecrated body is cared for, as the Lord's 
body ; for it belongs to him ; it is, indeed, the 



62 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

temple of the Holy Ghost. Then assuredly 
there can be no indulgence of appetite that 
injures it in any of its functions; no overtasking 
its powers to amass worldly gain or wisdom ; 
no pursuit of business or pleasure that detracts 
from the ability to perform devotional service, 
or destroys a spirit of devotion; no employ- 
ment that demands ''holy time;" no outward 
adorning that has not reference to the eye of 
God, and comes not within the Christian rule 
of '' modest apparel ; " no use of its eyes to look 
upon that which is impure, or would leave an 
unholy image upon the soul ; no delight in 
looking upon pride or vanity, or any of the 
foUies of fashionable life; no indulgence by 
them in reading that which will not dignify and 
refine. Nor can its ears listen voluntarily to 
profanity, or lying, or deception, to Sabbath 
desecration, or any of those sounds of revelry 
and mirth in which a vain world delight ; nor 
to lectures or sermons that do not advance 
the soul's interest, or have a claim upon our 



A BROKEN HARP. 6;^ 

humanity ; nor to sickly, sentimental song, the 
effervescence of effeminacy and folly. 

Nor can its tongue be employed in backbiting 
or slander, or evil-speaking ; on recrimination, 
flattery or deceit ; the consecrated tongue talks 
to the glory of God. All these are yielded, 
and its hands are not to be employed with any 
thing upon which the blessing of God cannot 
be asked. They are to be busy about that 
which is essential to comfort and convenience, 
but not devoted to the creation of luxuries or 
elegancies, or that which exhibits vanity and 
pride. Its feet are to run on errands of mercy 
and good-will, but are turned away from the 
slopes of death. The men of the world go 
where they please; but a consecrated body 
goes where duty calls and God allows. It 
walks the narrow way unincumbered by care, 
or weighed down with toil ; for he who cast up 
that way shares every burden. 

Such consecration is Bible-expressed and 
practical in all its items. Nought is yielded 



64 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

that would not be an absolute evil if retained. 
Every demand has the stamp of Omniscient Wis- 
dom ; every claim, the imprint of Infinite Love ! 
But is it not a '^ narrow way " ? Yea, verily; 
but it is all comprised in these oft-repeated 
words : '^ Whether ye eat or drink, or whatso- 
ever ye do, do all to the glory of God." ' Now, 
it may be asked, ^^ Can a sinner seeking pardon 
comprehend such sacrifice as above described ? " 
Perhaps not, in all its varied relations ; yet all 
means all to him. It is every thing his capacity 
grasps ; and the penitent sinner often has clearer 
perceptions of what God requires than many 
professedly long in the way. The soul seeking 

regenerating grace yields all, and, while he 

« 
retains the blessing of justification, keeps all 

upon the altar, not in a general, but specified 

sense, just as surely as the sanctified one. Then 

wherein is the difference ? and what more has 

the soul seeking holiness to consecrate ? 

Virtually nothing. The justified soul daily 

consecrates all to God; and with increasing 



A BROKEN HARP. 65 

strength comes increasing light, revealing new 
and varied duties and crosses. With the knowl- 
edge of their existence comes a willingness to 
assume and perform them ; so that, up to the 
moment of his obtaining the blessing of holi- 
ness, he is upon the altar of consecration. To 
assume a position beneath this would be to say 
God accepts and justifies a soul in the neglect 
of duty, and shrinking from known responsi- 
bility. What more has he to yield ? We 
conceive the only consecration is of himself in 
view of peculiar duties and crosses consequent 
upon an advanced position in the way of life. 
He ordinarily has experienced sufficient of trial 
to know that a holy life brings scorn, obloquy 
and reproach. He has the lives of the sainted 
and the copy of the Master before him, and 
realizes that " all who live godly in Christ Jesus 
shall suffer prosecution ; " and, with this view, 
he gives himself to God, to be as '^ clay in the 
hands of the potter.'' 

This is crticifixion indeed for a hitman heart, 



66 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

and is often most intense ; but such is his love 
of purity, that he cries out — 

" My heart-strings groan with deep complaint ; 
My flesh lies pa'nting, Lord, for thee ; 
And every nerve and every joint 
Stretches for perfect purity ! " 

Now, the evil at which we aim in all this is 
to show that the soul who comes before God 
seeking holiness, and absolutely enumerates in 
his consecration neglected duties and conscious 
sins, needs pardon. And here is a test by which 
such persons may try their state. There are 
such low practical ideas of justification in the 
churches, that we fear many press into what 
they call perfect love, who are only received 
into favor, or reclaimed from backslidings. The 
soul seeking holiness has no sense of gitilt. 
The witness of the Spirit to the fact of his 
adoption is as clear as the moment that Spirit 
testified to sins forgiven. To be justified before 
God is a great and glorious work ; to have the 
principles of grace implanted is a work worthy 



A BROKEN HARP. 67 

of a God, and cost the blood of Jesus ; and the 
commission of sin is incompatible with it : for 
^^ there is 110 condemnation to them which are 
/;2 Christ Jesus," and ''whosoever is born of 
God doth not commit sin." The lowest type 
of a Christian sinneth not : the veriest babe in 
Christ is without condemnation. 

The idea that persons who are justified can 
indulge in any thing that would be inconsistent 
for one professing holiness is untenable, and not 
founded upon the word of God. It is full of 
paralizing power, and destructive to the vitals 
of practical Christianity. God has not one 
code of laws for the justified, and another for 
the purified : his law is one, and is equally bind- 
ing on both. Sin, of any character or degree, 
in those who profess to be born from above, is 
contrary to the genius of our religion, and a 
practical denial of the power of divine grace. 



A BROKEN HARP. 69 



SOUL-BREATHINGS. 

MY soul wants help from God, 
Help from the throne, 
It struggles to be free. 

Now free from sin, 
All, all my works are vain, 
They take away no pain, 
They wash away no stain. 

All, all is sin. 

My soul in lowliness 

Cries for its God, 
It seeks no other bliss. 

E'en craves the rod, 
O, come and speak Be clean, 
O, come and cleanse from sin, 
O, come and reign within, 

My Lord, my God. 

I give my all to Thee, 

Take Thou Thine own. 



yo LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

And claim Thy right in me, 

Through Christ Thy Son, 
Thy blood my only plea, 
Thy blood alone I see, 
Can wash these stains away, 

Thy blood alone. 

My faith takes hold on Thee, 

Faith that prevails, 

I now the promise see. 

The blood now saves, 

Now Thou dost speak. Be clean. 

Now I am cleansed from sin. 

Now Jesus reigns within. 

Glory to God ! 

My soul exults in God, 

He is my Shield, 

I triumph through the blood, 

While now I yield, 

My wining soul obeys. 

To walk in all his ways, 

And jubilant with praise. 

His triumphs sing. 



A BROKEN HARP. 7 1 



THE LAST IDOL. 

T T is said, in one of the ancient wars, the 
^ conquering army had orders to demoHsh 
every idol throughout the land. They marched 
on in triumph, casting down the idols of temple, 
grove and household, so that, as they advanced, 
the rightful sway of the conqueror was every- 
where apparent and acknowledged. At length, 
in their triumphal march, they came to one, 
massive, towering in strength, around which 
gathered the priests and people in beseeching 
tones, pleading this should be preserved. '' Pros- 
trate every other, demolish our temples, cast 
down all our sacred things else, but spare this 
one," was the universal cry. 

But the orders were demolish all, utterly des- 
troy every vestige of idolatry throughout the 
land. And, as with sturdy blow and resolute 
will, the conquerors laid low this cherished idol, 



72 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

out rolled from beneath it treasures vast and 
wonderful, gold and diamonds and pearls and 
costly things, beyond all conception in richness, 
and all computation in vastness and worth. 

Jesus, the conqueror of human hearts, has 
issued orders to demolish every idol, to cast 
down every thing that exalts itself! He has 
come to us, to you and me, and has said, '' Give 
me thine heai't'' He will not share it with 
another god. Perhaps we have tried to yield 
Him all, until He does reign over a limited ter- 
ritory within. To conquer us thus much. He 
has been forced by His Providence to lay low 
those idols we would not yield; or, through 
slow and painful discipline, we have ourselves 
cast them at His feet, a trophy of His grace. 

But, perchance, to this hour he has not full 
possession. The order to-day is, demolish every 
idol ; there may be but one remaining, and that 
the chiefest, to us the costliest offering we can 
ever bring to the feet of the Redeemer. But 
His voice rings out clear and strong above all 



A BROKEN HARP. 73 

our pleadings, and demands the gift. Shall we 
yield willingly, or compel Him to deal sturdy, 
yea, terrible blows before our idol falls ? Oh, 
if we will consent. to its demolishment, as it falls, 
from beneath will roll out treasures of which 
we had no conception. Beneath that last idol 
in our heart lies hidden the richest things of the 
kingdom, treasures, wondrous and vast, treas- 
ures of grace, treasures of influence, treasures 
of usefulness, treasures of power. 

The treasures of grace how inexhaustible ! 
The riches of the kingdom how vast ! Who 
can compute with any arithmetic the treasures 
God has in reserve for his saints ! All worlds 
are laid in contribution to add to their wealth ; 
all intelligences wait the bidding of God to 
minister unto them. He notes the falling of the 
hairs of their head, and would dispatch a seraph 
from the throne to prevent the tripping of their 
feet in their upward way. The costly things of 
grace ; the blessed fruits of the spirit ; the com- 
munion of the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ ; 



74 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM" 

the fellowship of saints ; the victory over death, 
and the robe, the palm and the crown, are all 
hidden beneath that last idol, and through its 
fall will all be revealed. 

Treasures of inflitence I We have no concep- 
tion of the amount of influence the feeblest of 
us can exert for God and His cause. To be 
influential as a saint does not require wealth, 
social position, high intelligence, or extended 
fame. None of these are essential. Many pro- 
fessed Christians have these, and little or no 
influence for God. The treasures of a holy 
influence are open to the man of deepest pov- 
erty, of a low grade of intellect. He can rival 
St. Paul in holy living, and St. John in purity 
and love. The secret things of the kingdom 
are revealed to those who fear God and keep 
his commandments, and he can equal Abraham 
in obedience, and any saint in devout fear. The 
wisdom that is given liberally is open to his 
draft, and he is God's chosen one to be rich in 
faith and heir of the kingdom. An influence 



A BROKEN HARP. 75 

holy and all potent lies hidden beneath that last 
idol. Shall it fall, that the grace of God be not 
frustrated in you ? 

The casting down of that last idol is the per- 
fect enthronement of Christ. On its ruins is 
built up a throne of power, from beneath which 
flows streams of blessedness and wondrous life. 
The fountain pure, the streams are life-giving; 
the fountain inexhaustible, the streams ever 
flow. The most powerful influence is not that 
which we exert with a purpose, but that which 
is unconscious. That which flows forth from 
character, rather than positive act. Not so 
much what we do, as what we are, is the meas- 
urement of our influence. Oh ! if Christ is 
throned and sceptered within, who shall tell the 
wonderful results of life ! Who shall measure the 
good accomplished by the feeblest saint ? or who 
count the stars in the Redeemer's crown, placed 
there by a holy life. Let that idol fall ; deal lusty 
blows right speedily ! Delay not, that your treas- 
ure of influence henceforth be for God and souls ! 



76 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Treasures of usefulness I How incalculable 
the amount of good accomplished by one saved 
soul. To be useful does not imply great deeds, 
splendid talents, and varied acquirements. The 
humblest may be of untold service, the weakest 
may bear burdens for others. Opportunities 
are everywhere — the field is wide, seed may 
be sown broadcast, seeds of kindness, benevo- 
lence and love ; seeds of warning, reproof and 
instruction, and more than all, seeds of holy 
living. The world is perishing for the lack of 
laborers. Night will soon be upon us and work 
will cease. 

Life is inexorably real — eternity is a great 
practical fact; destiny unalterable, and eternal 
is the result of life. O ! let the idols fall that 
keep Christ from His throne, and you from your 
work ! Enter the vineyard without delay ; cast 
aside all that interferes with earnest labor ; with 
a will seize on the first implement at hand; 
make resolute and persistent effort, and sure as 
you sow you shall reap ; and, as you go, the 



A BROKEN HARP. 77 

harvest will be gathering thick around you ; 
the reaper shall follow hard after the sower, and 
the ripened sheaves in the garner shall prove you 
worthy the ^'Well-done" of the Master. 

Treasures oi power ! The dethronement of 
all that opposes God is the establishment of His 
kingdom. Henceforth His laws are obeyed, His 
work performed. He speaks and acts through us, 
His will is done by us. His glory manifest in us. 

The saint is humble, humility is strength ; he 
is gentle, gentleness has made him great ; he is 
weak, in his impotency, Christ is manifest in 
power. In provocation he answers not again, 
silence is his defence. Under injury he is 
patient; patience is his stronghold. In afflic- 
tion he murmurs not — his silent tears are the 
eloquence of love. In poverty he is submis- 
sive — his resigned soul feasts on the manna of 
the kingdom. In tribulation he rejoices — his 
joy is the miracle of Christ's religion. In death 
he triumphs — his victory is the astonishment 
of the universe. 



78 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Oh ! what power has a saint of God ! Power 
over sin within, and Satan and the world with- 
out. Power with God to prevail, and with man 
to persuade. Power to call down blessings, and 
to hold back judgments. Power to add to the 
number of the elect, and diminish the count of 
the lost. Power to heighten the song of seraphs, 
and decrease the wail of the banished. Power 
to add glory to the crown of the Saviour, and 
take dominion from the sceptre of Satan. Oh ! 
who will not prostrate that last idol that keeps 
back such omnipotence of grace. 



A BROKEN HARP. 79 



SALVATION ; ITS EXTENT AND RESULTS. 



TTTHO does not exult in the great fact of 
salvation ? Salvation ! what a word ! 



Who can tell its wondrous import, or who 
compute its mighty power ? Do we yet 
know the alphabet of this great salvation, 
or comprehend the first principles of its all- 
conquering mightiness ? Can those who 
live nearest the sacred stream, and who are 
most God-honored in their labors, begin to 
understand the hidden mystery of its mighty 
v/orkings ? Can they give the first solution of 
the wondrous problem, or compute with any 
arithmetic what it would do for the world could, 
every impediment be removed ? 

Oh ! when the sum of the sacrifice made in 
heaven, the sufferings of Jesus, the intercessions 
of Christ, the operations of the Spirit, the min- 
istry of angels, the worth of the soul, the bliss 



So LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

of heaven, the pangs of hell, and the tremen- 
dous import of the word eternity, can all be 
compressed in an intelligible alphabet, then 
perhaps some faint idea can be given of the 
word salvatio7i. Until then, it must remain 
unwritten and untold. 

But, though this theme is unfathomed and 
unfathomable, still its effects are manifest and 
overwhelming. It does change human hearts; 
it does make men new creatures in Christ Jesus ; 
so the Scriptures affirm, so experience proves. 

But hozv much can it change us ? How far 
may we become new creatures ? Where is the 
limit ? Stand up ye that affirm ^' Thus far, and 
no farther," and tell us where its sacred stream 
ceases its flow ; and where is its ebbing tide- 
mark, above which it never rises ? Tell us, if 
ye be able, how much of pollution Jesus' blood 
can wash away, and where is the line that 
divides between its power and that of sin. 
Sketch upon the canvas, with an artist's skill, a 
heart defiled, polluted, fallen, and then one upon 



A BRbKEN HARP. 8 1 

which salvation's ^Lttemnost is clearly pencilled, 
and reveal to us what remains of unholiness and 
sin. Dost shrink ? And well thou mayst ; for 
who dare limit the Holy One of Israel ? Who 
shall tell where is salvation's ne plus ttltra^ or 
who affix its minhmnn ? 

Oh ! when we can fathom the love of the 
Father in the gift of his Son ; vvdien we can 
comprehend the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes 
became poor ; Vv^hen we can understand the 
unnumbered strivings of the' Spirit borne with 
and forgiven ; when we can measure the com- 
bined influences of earth and heaven to rescue 
poor fallen human hearts — then perhaps we 
may tell the extent of its wondrous power. 

Although we can never describe this .salva- 
tion, or here fully test its extent, still its results 
are glorious. Shall our poor pen linger a 
moment on this theme, which angels have 
desired to fathom ? but, all too finite, they 
wonderingly wait the revealments of the mighty 



82 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

scheme. Salvation, present and eternal, we 
dare place upon our banner as the common 
privilege of the world ; salvation now and for- 
ever, through the blood of the Lamb ; from sin, 
its guilt and pollution ; salvation from unholy 
intentions or desires, from impure affections or 
purposes, from unhallowed emotions or deeds, 
from sinful thoughts or words, yea, more, from 
corroding care or distressing fear, from an 
accusing conscience or an offended God ; salva- 
tion not from sickness, bereavement, adversity, 
or death, but salvation in the midst of them. 
But this is not all : a heart all pure, and washed 
in blood, is filled with love — love to God 
supreme, to man pure and undefiled. Blessed 
state ! oh wondrous scheme ! — far above rea- 
son, and yet not contrary to reason ; far above 
poor feeble, unassisted human nature, and yet 
perfectly adapted to it ; far above it in its dig- 
nity and power, but wondrously elevating and 
triumphant in its exercise upon a depraved 
heart; a scheme worthy its origin, and can 



A BROKEN HARP. S^ 

only be comprehended by Him who planned 
and executed it; a scheme that spans two 
worlds, and connects two eternities. 

Oh ! when we can know the tortures of a 
separateness from all good, the horrors of the 
living presence of all evil, the pangs of an 
undying death, and measure the depths of the 
unspent wrath of God ; and when the robe, 
the palm, the crown, is ours ; when, grasping 
our immortality, we link it to an eternity of 
bliss ; when we can know that through this 
salvation we have escaped the one, and enjoy 
the other ; then, then will rise the eternal song, 
'^ Unto Him who hath loved us, and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood — to him be 
glory and dominion for ever and ever." 



A BROKEN HARP. 85 

THE OLD WAY. 

^ J ^O stand up for Jesus when it is costly; to 
-^ be Bible Christians when the church and 
world conspire to make the Avay to heaven an 
easy one ; to contend for the old doctrines of 
the apostles and prophets when it occasions 
great reproach ; to assume that self-denial, and 
non-conformity to the world, are essentials in 
our religion ; to insist upon the demonstrations 
of the Spirit with power, and its attestation to 
its own work ; to declare that the old way of 
the cross is the only way to God — is the spe- 
cial mission of the few who walk in white. 

But to do this, relying upon God, is to be in 
the furnace, and not feel the flame ; to be arnong 
lions, but dwelling securely. It is coming to 
the Red Sea, but finding a path of safety and 
walls of protection. This is the miracle of 
Christ's religion. Dying, we live ; and, losing 
our lives, we save them. 



A BROKEN HARP. 87 



OLD-FASHIONED SmGING. 

T T OW frequent the remark, ^^ Singing in our 
^ ^ churches is not what it once was ; that 
was singing that made the heart glad." How 
many sigh for the old familiar strains sang by 
hundreds in the great congregation. But, alas ! 
the warbling of a few voices, the tasteful cere- 
mony of a select number, the performance of a 
few Christless souls, is often substituted for the 
praises of those who go to worship God in His 
sanctuary. 

Methodism received in its .earliest infancy a 
baptism of joy, the joy of assurance. This 
emotion demanded a voice, a tongue ; it must 
sing, its gladness was irrepressible. It was this 
inner impulse that made the singing of early 
Methodism a power in itself, and contributed 
largely to its success. Crowds were attracted 
by the joyousness of its melody, in distinction 



SS LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

to the slower and more solemn tones of other 
denominations. There was an earnest hearti- 
ness in it that reached the masses, and found a 
ready response. To be a Methodist was to be 
a singer, for nearly every Methodist sung. The 
preachers made the valleys and hills ring with 
the independent, triumphant hymning of Charles 
Wesley ; while from the membership in work- 
shop and field, kitchen and parlor,' continually 
ascended the songs of happy hearts. The free- 
ness and fulness of salvation were themes that 
called out the native impulses of the soul, and 
woke to music the inner life. Gladness was 
their characteristic ; while simplicity of worship 
and freedom from restraint, were the natural 
results of joyful experiences. 

These inward springs of cheerfulness, and 
founts of praise, could find no more appropriate 
channel than through the immortal lyrics of the 
Wesleys. These were instinctive with a deep 
devotional spirit, and no possible phase of expe- 
rience, but here found utterance. Evangelical 



A BROKEN HARP. ^ 89 

in sentiment, elevating in effect, and with a 
rigor of diction unrivaled ; at times tender, 
sympathetic, and penitential ; then exultantly 
triumphant, they found a response in the joyful 
hearts of the early Methodists, and were as the 
wings of seraphim to bear them in an ecstacy 
of devotion to the mount of praise. These 
psalmodies were so expressive of Methodistic 
characteristics and theology as to indoctrinate 
the Church without the help of catechisms or 
systematic training. Through the aid of song, 
our fathers and mothers became adepts in vin- 
dicating 'our peculiarities, and were much more 
pure in doctrine and greater lovers of discipline 
than many of their sons. 

But when shall these good old times return ? 
When shall we hear the grand old '' continental " 
tunes, attached to the burning, praising hymns, 
expressive of experience, roll in mighty, swell- 
ing harmony, from all our congregations, and 
our social meetings enlivened by the heart- 
stirring revival melodies of later times ? We 



90 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

answer, when our experience, as a Church, par- 
takes of a hke character with theirs. This may- 
or may not exclude choirs from our sanctuaries ; 
but it will open lips long sealed, and cause a 
universal desire for simplicity of worship, earn- 
estness of devotion, and union of praise. When 
the joy of assurance is general among us, then 
shall we sing the same ringing melodies ; when 
this joy is abounding, we must sing, it is the spon- 
taneous outgushing of a heart filled with praise. 
Our strict adherence to forms of worship, has 
something to do with our listlessness and heart- 
lessness, our sleepily-uttered prayers and proxy 
praises, but our experience more. What though 
we have double steepled churches and velvet- 
cushioned pews, do these present our heartiness 
of praise ? Alas ! the trouble is mainly with 
our experience. Undue attachment, and con- 
formity to the world, hushes the harp-strings, 
and no music but that which satisfies a sordid 
earthliness, comes from the heart's deep fount. 
Let the Church awake to a spirituality com- 



A BROKEN HARP. 9 1 

mensurate with her numbers ; let her form dilate 
with the energy of a new baptism, and her great 
heart be washed anew in the blood of Jesus, and 
such a revolution in all our worship would 
ensue, as to heighten the rapture of angels, and 
cause a triumphant doxology to ascend before 
the throne. 

Our hearts burn within us when we sing in 
the Spirit ; there is an intenseness in our wor- 
ship when a live coal from the altar, fires our 
songs with seraphic fervor. Feeling, real, gen- 
uine, old-fashioned feeling, must sway the soul, 
and then it will find voice in the sublime lyrics 
of our Zion, with an earnestness and fervidness 
that will fire cold hearts with enthusiasm and 
delight. Such was the music of that song 
which Moses sung, in stately march, celebrating 
the high deliverances of Israel, and God's guid- 
ing hand through the desert. So David's harp 
sung a nation's triumph, and sounded a nation's 
jubilee. Worship in song is the nearest ap- 
proach to the worship of the upper sanctuary 



92 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

earth can give. When the united chorus of a 
company of behevers, rises from hearts newly 
baptized, how do the mysterious ardors of love, 
and rising of joy, swell with high praises to 
God and the Lamb ! When the heart and 
voice unite in hymning praise, it is the faint 
echo of angelic minstrelsy, the prelude of the 
soul's eternal song ! 

But how are we degenerated in this essential 
of public worship, and weakened in moral 
power. When deep spiritual fervor joins rythm, 
and music is poured forth in song, it stirs the 
soul as no other influence can, save the Divine. 
Who has not seen crowds held spell-bound by 
the revival hymns and melodies of later times ? 
The mere utterances of religious sentiment, first 
graven upon the heart, and then sung to inspir- 
ing strains, have refreshed millions, more from 
their simple springs, than were ever watered 
from the pompous urns of orchestras or operatic 
choirs. 

But we need the baptism of the Spirit as 



A BROKEN HARP. 93 

much to sing as to preach or pray ; we think 
more, since it is the voice of praise. One of old 
s^id, '^ The joy of the Lord is your strength," 
but how can one be joyous without Christ in 
the soul ? How can we sing the Lord's song 
in a strange land ? Let all of us, who sigh for 
the good, old-fashioned singing, have the joy 
of the Lord within, and cultivate the spirit of 
song ; sing in the great congregation and at the 
fireside ; in the social meeting and social gath- 
ering, '' sing lustily," sing joyously, and others, 
catching the inspiration, will join the strain, and 
thus a reform be speedily inaugurated. Let us 
all sing heartily as unto the Lord, with the 
Spirit and the understanding also, until we join 
the endless anthem of the skies. 

" Yes ! music that sweet holy spell, 

The language of yon sainted sphere, 
In this we will our raptures tell, 

And its loved voice our God wdll hear. 

" Long He its eloquence hath known, 
His young creation wath it rang 
When first young morning heralds shone 
Together they His praises sang." 



A BROKEN HARP. 95 



HOLmESS WITHOUT POWER. 

'^ 1 ^HERE is a kind of holiness professed that 
-^ weakens the confidence of many in this 
blessed doctrine. Some profess that the '' blood 
of Jesus cleanseth them from all sin," and yet 
they are comparatively powerless for good. 
They possess a negative holiness, are outwardly 
consistent, faithful in the duties of religion, but 
without positive power to assist others in the 
way of life. 

We have a right to look for a higher and 
more extended range of usefulness from those 
who are in the highway of holiness. We expect 
of the vaQX^Xy Justified soul, that he live without 
committing actual sin : this he must do, if he 
retain his justification. We look that he grow 
in grace daily : this he mitst do, if he fall not 
out by the way. That he regularly and impor- 
tunately plead with God at least three times a 



g6 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

day : this he 7nust do, if he thrive and grow 
toward the stature of a perfect man in Christ 
Jesus. We expect that he be faithfid upon all 
the means of grace in his pozver : this he imcst do, 
if he would let his light shine. We expect that 
'^ as he received Christ Jesus the Lord, so he must 
walk in him ; " that with the same earnestness 
and zeal, the same self-abandonment and trust, 
with which he received him, so he must abide 
in him, else he is broken off. And now, if all 
this must be met in a justified soul growing in 
grace, what ought we to look for in one pro- 
fessing holiness ? 

Certainly nothing more in their outward 
walk : for the babe in Christ is without condem- 
nation ; the lozvest type of a Christian lives 
without actual transgression. Surely we do 
not look that he be more than faithful in duty : 
that he exceed his ability : for it takes all his 
powers to do the will of God in a justified rela- 
tion. Then, aside from the entire removal of 
sin from the heart, wherein lies the difference ? 



A BROKEN HARP. 97 

We answer, In tlie increased power of doing 
good. Says a recent writer, ^^ The powerless 
Christian ought to be felt to be as great a mis- 
nomer as the forceless thunderbolt ; " and surely 
a Jioly Christian should be synonymous with a 
powerful one. When there are no foes within 
to quell ; when the source of temptation is all 
from without, and the entire being instinctively 
repels assault; when the warring of the spirit 
against the flesh-, and the flesh against the spirit, 
has all ceased ; when cleansed from sin and filled 
with love (for all this is done for the sanctified 
one) — what freedom from self! and how mighty 
the power to turn upon aggressive movements 
for God ! Filled with God, because filled with 
love, having the elements of divinity within, 
who shall say that one may not chase a thou- 
sand, and two put ten thousand to flight ? The 
justified soul is a king going forth to battle, but 
who has secret foes at home. His time and 
forces are divided between insurrectionary 
movements among his subjects and aggressive 



98 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

onsets upon foreign enemies ; but the sanctified 
one is a king, with peace and patriotism reign- 
ing in his borders, and his entire force in the 
field of conflict and advances. 

Now, we inquire, Can a soul tluts saved be 
passive ? Can he retain this blessing, and not 
have fricit as his reward, his inheritance ? Says 
the Saviour, '^ Herein is my Father glorified, 
that ye bear imtcJi fricit'' And who so well 
qualified thus to glorify God as he ? How 
mighty his power in prayer ! ^' If ye abide in 
me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask 
what ye will, and I zuill give it yon.'' How 
all-conquering his love ! it goes out into the 
highways and hedges, and compels them to 
come in. How grasping his faith ! the arms 
of love that compass him would all mankind 
embrace, and he pleads for a world to be brought 
back to God. Now, the persons first described 
have none of these characteristics. They are 
doubtless sincere : whence, then, their mistake ? 

We conceive it to be, to some extent, their 



A BROKEN HARP. 99 

former low notions of jtcstification. They were 
once converted, and since have maintained a 
tolerably consistent course, loving the means of 
grace, and maintaining the forms of piety, yet, 
all along, painfully conscious of duties neg- 
lected, of sins committed. But, seeing so many 
just like themselves, they have concluded they 
must be in the enjoyment of the divine favor. 
At times, when a little more faithful than usual, 
they possessed an inward satisfaction and a kind 
of joy which they denominated religion. They 
knew not that this joy is the same the sinner 
has when he performs a good deed — the mere 
approval of conscience just so far as they did 
duty ; that the grace they possessed as the fruit 
of the gracious intercession of Christ was a 
restraining and not a saving grace. Of this 
they were ignorant, and rekoned themselves 
the saved of the Lord. It is true, at times they 
had misgivings ; but looking around among the 
mass of professed Christians, and finding so 
many like unto themselves, they slept on again. 



100 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

But soon, perhaps, they are aroused ; some 
revival influences, or some providence of God, 
and they seek '' for more rehgion ; " seek a 
''deeper work of grace;" seek ''hoHness/' 
They bemoan their neghgence and sins, recon- 
secrate themselves to God, and plead for a clean 
heart. God hears them ; peace and joy spring 
up within ; a consciousness of the approbation 
of their heavenly Father fills the soul. And 
now they ask, '' What is tliis blccssing? I was 
pleading for a clean heart, and God blessed 
me. ' If I ask bread, will he give me a stone ? 
or, if I ask a fish, will he give me a serpent ? ' 
I feel nothing now but love in my heart : it 
must be the very blessing." Soon, hearing the 
duty of confession urged, they ignorantly and 
innocently take upon themselves this holy pro- 
fession. 

Now, we conceive the mistake at the outset 
to be this : they should seek the reclaiming 
poiver of grace, rcnezval from wandering. 
This had been in heart, if not in life, perhaps 



A BROKEN HARP. lOI 

both : and pardon is what they needed, and 
pardon is what they received ; for it was a sense 
of gidlt that led them to '' bemoan their negh- 
gence and sins, and reconsecrate themselves to 
God." The clearly justified soul seeking holi- 
ness has no sense of gnilt, but of depravity. 
The witness of the Spirit that he is a beloved 
child of God is as clear while he is seeking 
holiness as it was the moment he gave himself 
first to God, and his consecration is no more 
perfect now than then. It differs from it some- 
what, in that he consecrates himself now with 
greater light, and in full view of peculiar duties 
and increased responsibilities, consequent upon 
a life of hoHness. But the person before 
described has no such views : his is the view of 
past failures, and his consecration has reference 
to them. 

We do not intend to say that the blessing of 
entire sanctification is never received at the 
time of conversion, or when reclaimed from 
wandering, but admit, with Mr. Wesley, this 



102 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

may be the case, although not God's ordinary 
method of deahng with men. That one pro- 
fessing hohness, who is comparatively power- 
less for good, or not in advance of his justified 
brethren of equal natural capacity, may well 
take alarm, and institute self-examination, and 
a strict retrospection of the state in which he 
was when he sought and professed to receive 
this blessing. Was I a wanderer needing par- 
don ? or, while possessed of a conscious filial 
relation, was I prompted to seek a more perfect 
conformity to the will of God from the feeling — 



u ' 



Tis worse than death my God to love, 
And not my God alone." 

If, on examination, he finds himself of the 
former class, let him not be disheartened. The 
blood flows ; it speaks to-day before the throne : 
/* Wash and be clean." 



A BROKEN HARP. I03 



PIETY, m OLD AGE. 

^T 7E are often surprised to hear the senti- 
^ ^ ment advanced, that an earnest, zealous 
piety is specially adapted to youth, and the first 
years of maturer life ; but thence onward to old 
age, is less favorable to advance in holiness. 
We sometimes meet those in the ministry and 
membership, who in their earlier religious life 
were characterized by zeal, devotion and delight 
in the service of Christ, who are formal, and 
have lost their earnestness. We hear them 
affirming, that the vivacity and buoyancy of 
the youthful spirit, the freshness and ardor of a 
recent experience, cannot be maintained in after 
life, and often remind the ardent youthful dis- 
ciple, he need not expect to retain his zest in 
the things of God. They maintain that con- 
sistency of character, attendance upon the forms 
of religion, and an occasional recognition of 



J 04 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

what the Lord has done for them, is about the 
sum of a Christian's hfe. Not always in words 
is this declared, but uniformly by example. In 
the love-feast and class-room, they grow elo- 
quent over past times and past experiences. 

Suffer us to refer to this, not as a censor 
but affectionately. We revere the fathers and 
mothers in Israel, and are often pained with 
this apparent decline. Seldom do we hear of 
present joy, recent victory, or conscious power. 
Year after year passes and no apparent growth, 
or change in their devotions ; the same prayer, 
the same testimony seldom varied. Is this 
exemplifying the truth declared, that the '' path 
of the just is as a shining light, which shineth 
more and more unto the perfect day ?" 

Is this language Scripture imagery ? or is 
there such a thing as religion's path increasing 
in light and glory, nay, down the steps of old 
age ? Or, is it true that there is not sufficient 
power in the cross to charm the mature and 
aged ? not sufficient beauty to attract and delight 



A BROKEN HARP. I05 

them ? not sufficient labor in its promulgation to 
increase strength, nay, down to the last strug- 
gle : not sufficient conflict to nerve the muscle, 
and brace the sinew of mature or aged men ! 
Is the warfare, the race, the battle of the 
Christian, and the armor with which he is said 
to be girded, only the poetic strains of holy 
writ ? Or, is there a race to run, a warfare to 
maintain, a battle to be fought ? And if there 
is, are these left by the commander to the 
recent volunteers to wage, and as soon as well 
disciplined, does each successive one retire upon 
half-pay or a liberal pension ? How is all this ? 
These are practical questions proposed to think- 
ing men and women, to those perhaps w^hose 
destiny depends upon their solution. 

How many say, '' He bore the burden in the 
heat of the day," which may all be true; but 
do they cease to labor ere the night comes, and 
if so, do they receive their penny ? '' He that 
endureth unto the end shall be saved." They 
may not in after years be able to bear the same 



I06 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

kind of labor ; but Is there anything in religioics 
expeinence^ which they are too feeble to endure ? 
Is there anything in the blood that cleanseth and 
keeps cleaUy in the abiding joy of the Holy 
Ghost, too burdensome for them ? If so, then 
our religion is adapted only to the youth, and 
old age lives upon its philosophy, and what it 
once enjoyed. But, thank God ! there are spe- 
cimens of a green old age in piety. There are 
those who march to the gate of death with 
their armor on, and who have the spirit and 
courage of Joshua when he said, ^^ I am as 
strong this day, as I was when Moses sent me ; 
as my strength was then, so is my strength now 
both to go out and come in." There are those 
who prove the blessedness of a constant salva- 
tion, and find its power strongest, and light 
clearest, when earthly scenes are receding, and 
Heaven is in view ! Those who, as their eyes 
become dimmed by age, their spiritual vision is 
more and more intense, and as their ears become 
deadened to earthly sounds, ofttimes hear the 



A BROKEN HARP. I07 

melody of the distant land. Some who are so 
near the heavenly Jerusalem as to dimly see 
the lofty turrets and gilded domes, whose feet 
are on the brink of the river, exulting in glori- 
ous prospect of eternal reward, their sun sets 
in a clear sky, and henceforth is one eternal 
day ! Blessed the memory of such departed 
ones ! Hallowed the thought of their holy 
walk and godly counsels ! Monumental is such 
record, and all exalting to our common Saviour, 
Christ the Lord ! 

The history of the Church, from Paul to 
Wesley, gives glorious examples. In later 
times Carvosso, in humble sphere, and the 
sainted Reeves, bore bravely the standard down 
to death. In circles of distinction did Lady 
Huntington prove the power of a vitalized 
Christianity, and Mrs. Fletcher, in all condi- 
tions, glorified the Lord. Then our Church 
glows with the radiance of holy example from 
such as Mrs. Garretson, while Western New 
York still reflects the beautiful life of Mrs. Dr. 



Io8 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Bartlett. The memory of '' Mother Stebbins '' 
is shrined in the heart's hohest sanctuary of 
many in New York and New Jersey, while that 
of Henry Moore is ahke precious. Ehjah Mil- 
ler left an influence for God that ceases not, and 
we of Troy Conference remember gratefully 
good Fathers Howe and Covel, passed on be- 
fore. Dr. Bangs is a household name through- 
out Methodism, and his later years were ripe 
and rich with the graces of the Spirit. Father 
Kent went up a little before him to receive the 
conqueror's palm. And who that ever listened 
to the burning testimony of Sister Truslow, can 
doubt the triumphs of grace over every infirm- 
ity, and that now all are exchanged for the 
robe, the palm, the crown. 

At a love-feast we heard the testimony of a 
mother in Israel, seventy-six years along in 
life's journey, and almost fifty in the King's 
highway. With bowed form and tremulous 
tone she spoke of Jesus. The first utterance 
seemed the outburst of a heart all panting to 



A BROKEN HARP. IO9 

declare a Saviour's love, and kindle devotion all 
around. Said she, '' O, brethren and sisters, 
this is the brightest Sabbath morning I ever 
knew; I am having my best days in my old 
days ! Oh ! how I love Jesus, and how he 
loves me !" And thus did she, in similar strains, 
tell of mercy, until her tones were full and clear, 
and rung out upon us like the sound of youth's 
clear voice. She seemed to lose her feebleness, 
and receive something of the freshness of that 
eternal youth she will soon put on. 

Another just stepping into the flood, testified 
to a frehness and intensity of experience in her 
later years, quite beyond her earlier life ; and, 
as we gathered to witness the launching of her 
bark for the other shore, we sung of the heav- 
enly clime, and when there, it was '' Never to 
come back any more," with heaven-lit 'smile 
and glory-covered brow, she exclaimed, ''We 
shall never want to !. We'll stay with Jesus v/hen 
we go to Him." Wondrous grace ! that causes 
death's doings to heighten the sunset splendor 



no LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

of the soul, and spans the grave with the rain- 
bow of eternal promise ! How many aged 
pilgrims sing, 

" And now in age and grief, thy name 
Doth still my languid heart inflame, 

And bow my falt'ring knee : 
Oh ! yet this bosom feels the fire, 

This trembling hand, and drooping lyre 
Have yet a strain for Thee. 

" Yes ! broken, tuneless, still, O Lord, 
This voice transported shall record 

Thy goodness tried so long; 
'Till sinking slow, with calm decay, 
It's feeble murmurs melt away 
Into a seraph's song." 



A BROKEN HARP. Ill 



THOUGHTS ON PRAYER. 

T T r H E N this earth was in its primeval 
^ ^ beauty and glory, Man had converse 
with his Creator, face to face : he walked and 
talked with God, and no interruption of this 
communion caused his heart to mourn. But Sin 
was born and severed the links betwixt earth 
and heaven, Man and his glorious Author, and 
left the darkness of impenetrable night to settle, 
in all its blackness, o'er present scenes and 
future joys. While no ray of light dawned to 
cheer the gloom, all was desolate and drear. 
The steps of man were weary, as he journeyed 
to the grave ; but soon a voice all musical was 
heard, which cleared the gloom, and threw a 
blaze of light and life athwart the surrounding 
night, ** The seed of the woman shall bruise the 
serpent's head," floats on the breeze in tones 
all divine. Expiring hope revives, and death 



112 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

henceforth is a conquered foe. This orphaned 
earth is thrown back into the galaxy of Jeho- 
vah's favor, and shares its Creator's love. 
Shout all ye sons of the morning, for God can 
now be ''just and yet the justifier of him that 
believeth in Jesus." 

But no more is the voice of God heard as he 
walks in Eden's vale ; other means serve to 
disclose his will, to make known his require- 
ments and draw man into communion with 
himself A throne of grace is erected, a mercy 
seat established, and through the blood of the 
covenant he may draw nigh by faith : '' ask and 
receive " all needed good. 

And since it is our only hope, it is well if 
we consider the privilege of Prayer. 

We conceive the question with us is not one 
of stern and iron-handed duty, but of privilege 
— not whether we niicst, but whether we may 
pray. Does the Great God, the Creator of the 
universe, the upholder of all things, allow sinful 
mortals audience ? Meiy we petition the court 



A BROKEN HARP. II3 

of heaven, and disclose in the ear of the Eter- 
nal our griefs and fears, and joys and sorrows ? 
Does He who ruleth in the heavens, and to 
whom '' the inhabitants of the earth are as 
grasshoppers," condescend to regard our prayers 
and listen to our complaints ? O, yes ; in strains 
as sweet as fill the arched worlds of light, we 
hear his voice, '' Come unto me all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest." Blessed privilege : As children approach 
a parent, so may man his Maker with the same 
confidence and hope. 

While it is our privilege to pray, we can but 
feel the necessity of prayer. We are in a world 
of sin and sinners, our natures depraved and 
sinful, the inherent tendency of our being 
against holiness and God ; how much we need 
the sustaining grace which is only given in 
answer to prayer. God has revealed conditions 
through which we may receive his blessing and 
regain his likeness, it is by prayer only these 
results are obtained. If we would be holy, we 



114 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

must pray. Implanted within are desires for 
happiness, that can be satiated only by Him 
who formed them, and the loathings of our 
spirits to the corruptions which enshroud us, 
can be removed only by Him who is our 
Redeemer and Purifier. 

The pleasures of earth are as vanity, and its 
joys as dust in the balance, for our immortal 
natures demand something elevating, enduring, 
and it is only by prayer these ardent longings 
are removed, these desires satisfied. We see 
still its necessity, for we are in a world of misery 
and death. Vice and ruin stare us in the face 
on every hand, and death only closes the fear- 
ful scene. Our friends die at our side, and the 
most touching affinities and tenderest ties are 
rudely wrecked and sundered by the hand of 
death. The loved ones of our hearts and homes 
lie in silence in the tomb, and our own limbs 
totter towards its brink. Soon its paleness will 
gather over us, the fever fires scorch us, the 
consumptive pains waste us, and, with one fear- 



A BROKEN HARP.' II5 

ful stroke, death will weed us all away. Our 
natures start back, and shrink in fear at thought 
of the dying chill and loathsome charnel house, 
corruption's fearful power, revels of the feasting 
worm, and stillness of the tomb. But there is 
a power which will enable us in full prospect of 
all this to rejoice and exclaim, '' For me to live 
is Christ, and to die is gain." There is a power 
that will make the death-bed seem the stepping 
stone to a glorious immortality — and the grave 
the dressing chamber, in which we lay aside 
mortality's vestments and put on the incorrupti- 
ble, and that power is given in answer to prayer. 
If, then, such glorious results crowd the pathway 
of the man of prayer, what can we ask more 
in view of our necessities than the privilege of 
prayer ? While it is a privilege and necessity 
to pray, there is Beauty in prayer : It is Help- 
lessness casting itself upon Power. It is 
Infirmity leaning on Strength, and Misery 
wooing Bliss. It is Unholiness embracing 
Purity, and Hatred desiring Love. It is Cor- 



lib LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

ruption panting for Immortality, and Earth- 
borns claiming kindred in the Skies. It is the 
flight of the soul to the bosom of God, and 
the spirit soaring upward and claiming nativity 
beyond the stars. It is the restless dove on 
drooping wing turning to its loved repose. It 
is the soaring eagle mounting upward in its 
flight and with steady gaze pursuing the tract 
till lost to all below. It is the roving wanderer 
looking toward his abiding place where are all 
his treasures and his gold. It is the prisoner 
mourning his fetters, and impatient to be freed 
pleading for his release. It is the mariner of a 
dangerous sea upon the reeling topmast descry- 
ing the broad and quiet haven of repose. It, is 
the soul oppressed by earthly soarings escaping 
to a broader and purer sphere, and bathing its 
plumes in the ethereal and eternal. O, there is 
beauty such as earth has not in prayer. 

But there is also Power in prayer. It derives 
its energy from the promises of God, and by 
faith in those promises it is omnipotent. The 



A BROKEN HARP. II7 

treasures of grace are ever open to the draft 
of prayer. Importunity opens the gates of 
heaven, and our prayers should wear the char- 
acter of importunate knocking at the barrier 
which hmits our approach to almighty Good- 
ness. 

The consciousness of the faintest secret wish 
in the depths of the heart, to know and com- 
mence with the Infinite Source of Holiness, 
should encourage us to knock and plead with 
unwearying perseverance and never desist till 
we attain the blessing. '^ Ask and receive " is 
our warrant for prayer, and we cannot fail. 
Our prayers should be the holy violence of 
reiterated entreaty. They should be the loud 
and lengthened cry of him who finds no me- 
dium between a friendly access to the throne 
of grace and the agonies of the lowest hell. 
These holy wrestlings and importunate plead- 
ings, these groans unutterable, heard only by 
the ear of the Almighty, these sighs of peni- 
tence and tears of grief, which in their agony 



Il8 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

humbly motion Heaven for relief, are all- 
powerful at the court above. The highest 
emergencies must yield, for the word of the 
Eternal is pledged to answer prayer. O, then, 
ye seekers after pardon and holiness, urge your 
suit before God. Mountains shall sink and 
disappear, the sun be stopped in its course, the 
elements robbed of power, ravenous beasts 
quieted, the floods stayed and made to stand 
on either side, as a wall of brass for your pro- 
tection, rather than a single promise fail. Yes, 
for you so weak and unworthy, miracles of 
power shall be wrought, if needful, to answer 
the prayer of faith. Then plead, agonize, 
believe and prevail. 



A BROKEN HARP. 



119 



EARNEST COVETmOS. 

" Nearer, my God, to thee : 
E'en though it be 
A cross that raiseth me, — 
Nearer, my God, to thee." 

T AM trying to get to God anew. My birth- 
•^ day, Oct. 3, was a day of humiliation and 
tears. Oh, how I saw my Hfe ! I am one year 
older than Hester Ann Rogers when she died ; 
and it was said of her, she walked twenty years 
with God in white. Had I been faithful, I 
might have had pure garments, and been a liv- 
ing flame of holiness, for at least thirty years ! 
No one has had clearer light than I from early 
childhood, and no one more pressed by the 
Spirit to high and holy things. 

I have thought my peculiar temperament and 
trials were such, that it was impossible I could 



120 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

reach and retain that §aintliness, that devoutness, 
and closeness of walk with God, that my soul 
was pressed to attain, and beneath which it has 
ever been restless and unsatisfied. But, when 
low before him, I saw God could keep me ; that 
the furnace was a necessary part of the refining 
process, and was to be accepted and rejoiced in. 
Oh ! I saw his hand in all, and was enabled to 
supplicate, with the Spirit's intercessions urging 
on my plea, until I felt that upon God's altar I 
lay as a whole burnt-sacrifice. My consecration 
included the spirit as well as the letter of the 
law in a broader and deeper sense. 

I have had no sensible revealments of love, 
nor special zeal in labor, but a spirit of inter- 
cession for the perfect work to be wrought 
anew, and more complete than ever before. I 
must mount to a labor I have never reached, 
and look from a Pisgah that my feet have never 
pressed. I must know a love in depth and 
power to me all unknown before, and see fruit 
in labor beyond all the past. I care not what 



A BROKEN HARP. 121 

this baptism may lead to in the form of duties ; 
what it may require in point of sacrifice ; so do 
I desire God in his fulness, I would choose a 
beggar's portion or a martyr's crown ; only let 
me have the indwelHng Godhead. Gifts cannot 
suffice ; usefulness will not satisfy ; the graces 
of the spirit cannot fill : but, oh ! — 

" Give me Thyself, from every boast, 
From every wish, set free : 
Let all I am in thee be lost ; 
But give Thyself to me !" 

Lady Maxwell said God tried her with pros- 
perity; he gave her what the world could 
proffer to see if she would be satisfied with 
this : but still her soul cried out for him ; and, 
when he saw she would accept nothing in his 
stead, he gave himself. I am just there ; I turn 
me from every thing, and cry out for him. 
Long years ago, I gave up the world : it has 
no hold upon me. I have no ambitions or 
interests apart from the cross and cause of 



122 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Christ. All centre here. My associations are 
within his Church : it is my world. My labors 
and cares are here, and all my joys. 

But though I have a place among the labor- 
ers ; though he has permitted me to gather 
sheaves, and rejoice often in harvest- time ; 
though he gives me sweet access to him, and 
folds me ofttimes in his embrace, whispers words 
of encouragement and love, — yet oh for his 
indwelling, his constant presence, his ever- 
speaking love ; for that which shuts me up in 
him ; which covers me all over with his right- 
eousness, and hides me in it ; which makes me 
walk softly, and keeps me so near him ; so one 
with him as to hear the least whisper of his 
love, the least intimation of his will ! Often in 
my pleadings I cry out, '^ Give me the Fletcher 
kind of salvation !" That holy man has always 
been my human model. I never see the engrav- 
ing of his blessed face but it thrills me, and 
forces a prayer for his saintliness, his oneness 
with God. 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 23 

And now my soul is all intent upon its object ; 
these soul-breathings are held up by constant 
intercession, — up between the wings of the 
cherubim, fast by the throne of God. And 
shall they not prevail ? 



y 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 25 



THE WIDOW'S SON. 

A WIDOW'S son lay sleeping 
In the cold embrace of death, 
Her only joy and blessing, 
Of all she was bereft. 

Her husband in his manhood 
Had lain him down to die. 

Her earthly bliss and treasures. 
All, all, had passed away. 

She followed now her idol 

To his cold, dark resting place. 

And, wild with grief and sorrow, 
She pressed "the last loved kiss. 

But as her way she wended 
With saddened step and slow, 

A stranger, with attendants. 
Drew near the scene of woe. 



126 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

He gazed with look of sadness 
Upon the Widow's grief, 

Then stopped the lone procession 
With tones of bless'd relief 

With voice of power he uttered 
The words, " Young Man, Arise ! " 

When, quick as spark electric, 
He heard the Almighty's voice. 

And rose from death's dominions 
Triumphant o'er his foe. 

While he, the wondrous stranger, 
Passed on, unknown below. 

O, thou, beloved Master, 

Who dried those tears of woe, 

Be near, when floods of sorrow 
Our hearts shall overflow. 



A BROKEN HARP, 1 2? 



LIGHT IN DARKNESS. 

T T seems impossible many times that one can 
■^ go through so much misery and Hve. But 
the heart can bear untold pressures and yet beat 
on : the soul can writhe in agony, and yet hope 
on. Wonderful indeed this human mechanism, 
and more wonderful these souls of ours. There 
micst be a God, and a righting up, by and by, 
of all these strange events — a reading out of 
all these agonies and woes, and an uncorking 
of God's bottles in which the tears of saints are 
kept. O then we shall see such wisdom and 
love in all as to make us adore and praise. 
Until then we must wait and patiently endure^ 
for He giveth more grace, more than sufficient. 
Enough faith cries, and lies silently awaiting 
the wondrous issue. 



128 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

The clouds are dark, but they might have 
been darker ; the shadows are dense, but they 
might have been blacker ; the tempest is furious, 
but it might have been overpowering. Though 
not yet the clouds are fringed with silver, the 
shadows are lined wdth brightness, and the tem- 
pest is lulled by the voice of hope ; soon the 
silvery unfoldings of the cloud will cover all 
the darkness. The increasing brightness of the 
shadow's lining will change its sombre hue into 
wondrous beauty, and the tempest's roar of 
terror shall be hushed to calm repose, and 
Hope's quiet whisper shall give place to blissful 
rest. Thus are we ever changing: wild with 
grief, or intoxicated with joy : plunged in the 
depths, or riding the bounding billow ; contrast 
everywhere, and 07ily God is unchangeable. 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 29 



CHRISTIAJi miEGRITY. 

^ I ^O stand up for Jesus when it is costly: to 
-^ be Bible Christians, when the Church and 
world conspire to make the way to heaven an 
easy one ; to contend for the old doctrines of 
the apostles and prophets, when it occasions 
reproach : to assume that self-denial and non- 
conformity to the world are essential in our 
religion : to insist on the demonstrations of the 
Spirit with Power, and its attestations to its own 
work ; to declare that the old way of the Cross 
is the only way to God, is the special mission 
of the few who walk in white. But to do this 
relying upon God, is to be in the furnace and 
not feel the flame : to dwell among lions, and 
feel that their ferocity is curbed. It is coming 
to the Red Sea, but finding a path of security, 

and walls of protection ; it is being in the stormy 
9 



130 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

tempest but feeling only the ''Peace be still." 
This is the miracle of Christ's religion. Dying 
we live, and losing our lives we save them. 



A BROKEN HARP. 131 



THE FRUGAL CHRISTIAN. 

TTTE have found many professors of reli- 
gion whose chief reh'gious principle 
seems to be frugality. They are orthodox to 
the core, sturdy defenders of the faith, and 
most rigid devotees to the ordinances of wor- 
ship. They are frugal in all their habits of 
soul, and fear, most of all things, extravagance 
of devotion, or excess of spirituality. They 
seem afraid of being too pious, lest they may 
be suspected of fanaticism ; and of possessing* 
a high state of grace, lest they be convicted of 
singularity. Early in their religious life, they 
arrive at a point in experience, beyond which 
they seem not to advance. Content with their 
attainments, they are saved the labor of further 
pursuit : having found the ne phcs idti'a of expe- 
rience, they have nought to do but preserve 
carefully what they have already obtained. 



132 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

They are rigidly exact with their Maker, 
and allow no superfluity in their affections, or 
supererogation in their deeds. They seem to 
think prudence a paramount virtue in religion, 
and moderation the suimnitm bomim of Chris- 
tianity. They are so constant in attendance 
upon the means of grace as to deserve the 
appellation of devout religionists ; but their 
character in their communities is that of high- 
toned morality rather than deep heart-piety. 

Another characteristic of the frugal Christian 
is that of opposition to an emotional religion in 
others. Their standard of experience and emo- 
tion satisfies them, and they cannot see why 
others should not be gauged by it; and so they 
assume the position of church police to quell 
the disorders of the unruly. How often the 
trembling one whom God has saved, and whose 
heart burns to tell of Jesus' love, is restrained 
and kept from duty by the frigidity of these 
frugal ones ! How often are the social means 
of grace a place of forms, where they would 



A BROKEN HARP. I33 

have been a very Bethel but for these, who 
assume to decide how much of God and Holy- 
Ghost power can be allowed. 

We hear the pious and charitable say that 
this is their temperament ; that they are phleg- 
matic in their nature, and we must bear with 
them. But what to our mind seems strange is, 
that they do become earnest on other subjects ; 
that their souls are stirred in business, in poli- 
tics, temperance, and the great questions of the 
day ; that their eyes flash with enthusiasm, 
their forms dilate, and their whole being 
becomes intensified with interest and zeal. And 
yet the grace of God, the power of the Holy 
Ghost, is insufficient to call out the energies of 
their nature, or inspire their souls with vigor and 
devotion. We had thought that the sympathies 
of our being were more easily aroused upon the 
subject of religion than any other; that there 
was no agent or influence in all the universe so 
potent to arouse and move to action as the Holy 
Ghost ; and when we are possessed by it, Christ 



134 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

dwelling in us, the depest, strongest, purest, and 
most intense capabilities of our nature are ener- 
gized, and filled with divine power. 

But is there not much practical scepticism 
upon this point ? and are not large numbers in 
our churches more susceptible to other influ- 
ences than those of grace ? Is it not true that 
the infidelity of the age, in regard to the life 
of God in the soul, is not confined to the world ? 
Does it not lurk in our churches, sit in our pews 
and minister at our altars ? Not that which 
openly denies God and manifest truth, but 
that which arrays itself against Calvary-clothed 
power ; that which brings religion to the mere 
level of human virtue, and degrades the cross 
to a cool philosophy ; that which afiects only 
the intellectual, and leaves the emotional to be 
excited on every thing beside. Alas, that 
formalism is so prevalent ! — that which is con- 
tent with the outward observance; that goes 
through a cold routine of devotion ; that is 
satisfied with said prayers and proxy praises, 



A BROKEN HARP. I35 

and allows the true spirit to die ; yea, more, 
that sometimes assumes an attitude of opposi- 
tion to an earnest soul-piety, to a breathing, 
saving gospel, and coolly demands the life- 
Christian, the soul-savers of our churches, to 
come to its level, practically saying, '' Thus far 
shalt thou go, and no farther." How many 
deny the blood that bought them, the grace 
offered to save them, the power of the Holy 
Ghost proffered to them ! How many repre- 
sent zeal as enthusiasm, holiness as extreme 
strictness, and love to God, as evinced by 
ardent devotion, as chimerical, and the com- 
munion of the Spirit as the fancy of the super- 
stitious and insane ! 

These persons are sincere in their opinions, 
and honest in their expression, and must awaken 
the pity of the saved. But the effect is deathly. 
Their iceberg coldness congeals the streams 
around them : every green thing grows sear, 
and dies. Would to God blinded eyes might 
be opened, deafened ears made to hear, and 



136 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

hardened hearts to feel the force of truth ! If 
the Bible be true, it is fearfully so to such. 
If conversion implies a change of heart which 
results in a continued separation from the world, 
then are they indeed pitiably poor and naked, 
having neither the riches of grace, nor garments 
of righteousness. Trusting in the forms of 
Christianity, they are compelling themselves to a 
drudgery of observance only to escape perdition. 
Love to God does not prompt them, if it did, it 
would lead to the design of al! forms, to true 
heart-piety, and not merely to maintain a re- 
spectable religion before the world. It would 
allay the terrors of the death-bed scene, and 
of the tremendous judgment proceedings, and 
be a constant incentive to duty. Would they 
could feel the awfulness of their position ! God 
speaks to them in thunder-tones ; but they 
hear not his voice. He appeals to them with 
trumpet- voiced power and inquires, '' To what 
purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto 
me ? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt- 



A BROKEN HARP. I37 

offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts. 
When ye come before me, who hath required 
this at your hand to tread my courts ? Bring 
no more vain oblations : incense is an abomina- 
tion unto me. The new moons and the Sab- 
baths, the caUing of assembhes, I cannot away 
with : it is iniquity, even your solemn meetings.'* 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 39 



REVIVAL mCIDENTS. 

/"CROWDS were seen daily wending their 

^way to the Methodist Church in , and 

nightly its capacious seats were thronged with 
attentive listeners. Revival influences per- 
vaded the entire community, and the people for 
miles around flocked to the sanctuary, being 
thoroughly aroused on the all-absorbing subject 
of religion. In stores, hotels, shops and count- 
ing rooms, the revival was the one theme. 

For days that throng was held by the force 
of truth, to the one question, ''What is it to be 
a Christian ?" until they felt, under the search- 
ing tests of God's word, '' Lord, who shall be 
able to stand ?" 

Night and day that altar presented a scene 
of weepings, and groanings, and strugglings, 
and pleadings, tremblings and rejoicings. So 



140 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

intent were those bowed there, upon their own 
state, that they heard naught but the wild 
lament of their own spirit : saw naught but the 
fearful catalogue of time misspent, talents unem- 
ployed, wealth lavished on the body, while the 
immortal soul had famished for lack of food. 
With tears and groans indescribable did they 
call upon God, piteously bemoaning their per- 
version of Heaven's gifts, sincerely repenting 
and solemnly consecrating themselves to God 
and his cause, irrevocably His, all their interests, 
temporal and spiritual, for time and eternity. 
Thus consecrated, they were enabled to see the 
willingness of God to accept such a sacrifice 
because of his Son's blood, and intercessions ; 
to see by faith the Saviour spreading his hands 
and showing his wounds for them before the 
throne : to apprehend the Spirit as waiting to 
apply the blood, and in the fulness of their 
souls, cried out, '' All things are now ready, 
Jesus, Master, I come to Thee, and Thou dost 
save me." Shouts of holy joy broke forth 



A BROKEN HARP. I4I 

from many hearts, as one and another was 
released from the gaUing chains of spiritual 
bondage. 

Call ye that confusion^ ye sticklers for order ? 
Did the Holy Ghost despise that scene ? Did 
the Great God look upon it as one of undue 
excitement and fanatical folly ? 

*' But he is a God of order and not of coiifii- 
siony Yea, verily; but his estimate of order 
may differ from yours. Those feathered song- 
sters that warble forth his praise in concert, are 
not rebuked by Him ; the mighty roar of 
Niagara's wild flood is not silenced by his fiat. 
The ceaseless roll of ocean in deepest tones of 
terrific power is not quelled because of his dis- 
pleasure. The floods clap their hands, and the 
hills rejoice, the mountains leap, and the uni- 
verse in one long, loud hosanna hails Him, 
Creator and Lord of all. The angels employ 
their eternity in song, ceaselessly crying, '' Holy, 
Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts : Heaven and 
earth are full of thy glory." And shall not 



142 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

man who has been redeemed by bloodshedding, 
shout the high praises of his King ? 

''Let them shout,'' say you, ''but do not 
mingle groans and tears and shouts in one, this 
is the confusion^ Shall that crushed and bro- 
ken spirit, upon whom no ray of light comes, 
and who sees nought but God's displeasure, and 
feels nought but his wrath, and whose soul cries 
out oppressed, " O wretched man that I am, 
who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death ?" Shall he cease his moanings and groan- 
ings, that there may be Order, and that the 
saved may rejoice ? Nay, verily, " There is 
more joy in heaven over one that repenteth, 
than over the ninety and nine who need no 
repentance. 

What God sanctions by his presence, let man 
beware how he condemns and ridicules. The 
controversy is not with the disorder and confit- 
sion, but with God, and one of his manifest 
methods of saving souls. That one who can 
despise and ridicule the groans and tears of 



A BROKEN HARP. I43 

penitents at such a time, would have despised 
and ridiculed the sufferings of the Son of God 
in the garden. 

The danger to the Church is not so much 
from enthusiasm or excitement as from moral 
death. O Spirit of the living God, source of 
Life, come forth and breathe upon this valley 
of death, and make these dry bones to live ! 
Caviler ! smother not the little Pentecostal fire 
that may burn upon a few hearts ; cast not upon 
it the frigid liquid of cold contempt, or the 
blasts of tempestuous opposition, deeming you 
are doing God service, for better were it for 
you that a millstone were hanged about your 
neck and you cast into the depths of the sea 
than to offend one of these little ones; the 
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 

Through this faithful preaching and spirit 
searching, soon awakening influences reached 
the unpenitent and ungodly, of all ages and 
castes. Those who had been drawn to the 
house of God by the plain dealing with the 



144 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

church, and who were glad to hear confessions 
from its members, of sins and backsHdings, and 
who assented heartily to the elevated standard 
of piety as exhibited, now were troubled. The 
truth uttered gained their confidence. They 
felt there was a fearless, outspoken declaration 
of principles and practices of a Bible Christi- 
anity, and no covering of sins, that had appli- 
cation directly to professed christians. They 
knew that the Gospel was being preached among 
them, siLch a gospel as their understandings 
approved, and consciences acquiesced in and 
hearts longed to receive. Thus committed to 
its truthfulness, and vindicating its claims upon 
professors, when this mighty battery was turned 
toward them, they could not resist its power, 
and many scores found redemption in the blood 
of the Lamb. The infidel felt such a salvation 
worth seeking, and the openly profane and 
vicious felt it just met the demands of their 
being, to save them from their sins. 

This church was one which for years had 



A BROKEN HARP. I45 

been one of the strongholds of Methodism. 
The character of the membership was held in 
good esteem in the community. They were 
consistent and morally upright in their lives, 
and exerted their proportion of influence with 
other churches. 

In their observance of the means of grace, 
no individual church perhaps could be found, 
whose members more generally attended the 
class and prayer meetings. Although possessed 
of many excellencies, yet like the church of 
Ephesus, the Spirit of the Lord had some- 
what against this, because it had left its first 
love. And when in the hght of God's law 
they view^ed themselves, and were weighed in 
the balances of the Sanctuary, they were found 
wanting. Many of them found then, 

" They rested in the outward law 
Nor knew its deep design." 

A few incidents illustrative of the power of 
10 



146 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

searching truth, and of the girding of the Holy 
Spirit, will close this article. 

There was one, a timid sister of irreproach- 
able character, whose husband was a man of the 
world. She was faithful at class, but so exces- 
sively diffident, that it was with the greatest 
trepidation that she was able to utter a word 
for Jesus, or call upon his name. 

But see her at the altar of prayer. Mark 
that agonized look ! Hear those irrepressible 
groans. See how her every feature bespeaks a 
conflict most severe. 

But look again ! A heavenly calm is settling 
upon her brow ; a smile radiant with the light 
of heaven steals over her countenance, and 
words of triumph come exultantly forth from 
those lips. See with what quiet dignity she 
leaves the house of God with this new baptism 
upon her heart. 

The congregation again fills the house and 
from near the centre a voice is heard telling of 
the great salvation : the utterances perfect and 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 47 

distinct, and the words such as only a pure 
heart indites, and sanctified Hps employ. Every 
heart is spell-bound under the power that 
attends it, and. nerved by divine strength, the 
present attainment of this uttermost salvation 
is urged upon all, with a pathos and unction 
which only the Holy Ghost can inspire. There 
is that timid sister. She stands this hour saved 
of God. Opposition and persecution such as 
most are strangers to, have been her portion, 
but she is firm for truth and holiness. Gentle- 
ness and meekness combine to render her 
character lovely but not compromising. Un- 
yielding in principle, and faithful in duty, she 
stands a monument of the power of grace to 
render that mighty and efficient which was 
fearful and powerless. 

An instance of the elevating power of Bible 
Christianity, is that of a poor washerwoman. 
She came to the altar of prayer and soon found 
peace. Her life had been such as to cause fear 
of admitting her to the church, even as a pro- 



148 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

bationer, and although her walk was godly, and 
she made rapid advance in spiritual things, the 
Church hesitated before receiving her to its full 
communion. 

When five years had passed, that sister is the 
most gifted in prayer, the most mighty to pre- 
vail with God, of all that female band. 

In the union meetings held in that place, she 
almost invariably took part in the exercises, and 
she commanded such confidence in her piety 
and devotion to God, that all denominations 
join to commend her as an example of the 
power of divine grace. 

When a Professor in the Academy was seek- 
ing God, becoming discouraged in his effort, he 
was directed to this poor washerwoman as the 
most probable one in all the community to lead 
him to the Saviour. Surely, '' God hath chosen 
the foolish things of the world to confound the 
wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of 
the world to confound the things which are 
mighty, and base things of the world and things 



A BROKEN HARP. I49 

which are despised, hath God chosen ; yea, and 
things which are not, to bring to naught things 
that are, that no flesh should glory in his 
presence." 

An illustration of the power of conscience 
enlightened by the exhibition of Gospel truth, 
appeared in the case of an aged sinner. 

He was a man of wealth and position. His 
pious and devoted companion had, a few weeks 
previously, gone to her rest. Her last request 
in the class room was, '^ Don't forget to pray 
for my husband." Heartstricken and desolate, 
he presented himself as a subject of prayer, 
seeking the salvation that his now sainted wife 
had exemphfied and enjoyed. For several suc- 
cessive evenings he seemed to make no advance. 
The sympathies and prayers of the Church were 
concentrated upon him, but all of no apparent 
avail. One night he suddenly rose from the 
altar and left the house. Various surmisings 
of the cause were rife, and many concluded he 
was offended at the so-called ''noise." 



150 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

The next evening he was present and at the 
altar, the prayers of the Church were offered in 
his behalf, and faith enkindled, by the Spirit's 
aid he cast himself, the guilt and misspent time 
of a long life, upon Jesus the Saviour. Peace, 
the peace of God which passeth all understand- 
ing, filled his heart, and he arose a new creature 
in Christ Jesus. 

That morning a widow lady received through 
the post, a sum of money due her husband a 
score of years, and unknown to him or his 
executors. A mistake in this man's favor 
occurring in settlement, and unacknowledged 
these long years, was brought by the Spirit to 
his vision, and rested upon conscience until it 
stood alone the hindrance to life eternal. Like 
Belshazzar on the night of feasting and revelry, 
the finger of God traced in unmistakable char- 
acters the guilt upon his soul, and restitution 
was the only alternative. Surely, ^^ The word 
of God is quick and powerful, sharper than a 
two - edged sword, piercing to the dividing 



A BROKEN HARP. 151 

asunder of soul and spirit, and is a discerner of 
the thoughts, and intents of the heart." 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 53 



SECRET PRAYER. 

'^ I ^HAT the Great God allows sinful mortals 
■^ audience, and communes with men, is 
indeed marvellous and beyond finite compre- 
hension. That He not only allows, but invites 
our coming, is a condescension unfathomed and 
infinite. That He directs the manner of such 
approach, is evidence of wisdom unerring. 
To ^' pray without ceasing " is at once the 
privilege and duty of all. To have the heart 
always in unison with God and in the spirit of 
devotion ; to have its aspirations continually 
Godward, is the miracle of Christ's religion. 
But this alone is not sufficient for man's neces- 
sity; this alone satisfies not his longing for 
intimate communion. To meet this demand the 
Saviour said, '' But thou, when thou prayest, 
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut 



154 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, 
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall 
reward thee openly." 

This command has its origin in Infinite Wis- 
dom, and is worthy of its Source. The sacred- 
ness of the closet evinces the wisdom of its 
institution. Unholy motives may prompt to 
prayer in the family, the social circle and the 
sanctuary ; but here nought but love for ^' Him 
who seeth in secret " and a desire to be like 
Him leads to devotion. Not that it is impossi- 
ble to pray in secret from less and more grovel- 
ling motives, but it is not often done. The soul 
feels that none but God is near, and there can 
be no object in concealment or insincerity. In 
its approach it seems to challenge the Omnis- 
cient Eye : '' Search me and try me and see if 
there be any evil way in me." The closest 
scrutiny is craved and the soul seems to seek 
the searchings of the Spirit: Scan my being, 
go down into the deepest fathom of my heart, 
weigh motive and desire, and see if I do not 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 55 

love thee ; prove me whether I love thee not 
more than all beside, and if evil exist, if love 
is not made pure, '' lead me in the way ever- 
lasting." O ! there is one place this side the 
death-bed where sincerity reigns, Avhere the 
world is lost to vision, and God and eternity 
loom up to view; where things temporal give 
place to things eternal, and the carnal is lost in 
the Divine. In this Holy of Holies, sacred to 
converse with the Great I Am, revealments of 
celestial light and glory often ravish the soul 
until, changing from glory to glory, as by the 
Spirit of God, it becomes the companion of that 
spirit and ready to become a king and priest 
unto God. 

Its seclusion is another evidence of Wisdom. 
We all have desires and purposes which are not 
to be expressed in the hearing of others. We 
are commanded '^ In everything by prayer and 
supplication with thanksgiving to make our 
requests known unto God." With all our cares, 
our minutest concerns, we go to the private 



156 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

place of prayer. In our business, family trials, 
neighborhood connections, in *' everything," we 
make our requests known unto God. Here in 
this secluded retreat our burthened souls pour 
themselves out in prayer ; here we tell '^ Him 
who seeth in secret" all our hearts. Our petty 
cares and annoyances which so much perplex 
and goad the spirit, and which we would not 
feel free to rehearse to a friend, here we can tell 
to One who knows every pang of the human 
heart: we can recount each trial, while He 
numbers every tear. None so small and value- 
less but His eye notes and His ear listens unto ; 
none so insignificant if it be source of annoy- 
ance to a- single believing soul, but receives His 
ready sympathy. And here we receive strength 
to endure, and as we plead for wisdom to battle 
in the sterner conflicts, to meet the more stir- 
ring events of life — as we ask and supplicate for 
the baptism of power, to wage more manfully 
and victoriously the war of Antagonism against 
Error and Infidelity, against Formalism and 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 57 

Death, we feel the seclusion of the closet a glo- 
rious means of strength, enabling us to urge 
our suit, and never desist until we receive the 
blessing. 

Neglect of the observance of secret prayer 
is a true exhibit of the heart's defective piety. 
The words of command read, ^' But thou when 
thou pray est," the freqitejicy being left to our 
sense of want, or desire of communion, to the 
promptings of love and obedience. Prayer 
with the Christian is a voluntary service. Like 
a kind parent, our Heavenly Father allows us 
to come at all times when our hearts are inclined 
to approach him. But though the '' times and 
seasons " of prayer are left voluntary, every 
Christian feels that nothing less than a certain 
number of times each day can satisfy con- 
science. David said, '' Morning and evening, 
and noon will I pray and cry aloud, and He 
shall hear my voice ; " and Daniel three times 
a day bowed before God. Eminent Christians 
in all times have been eminently faithful in the 



158 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

closet, and it is essential that every one should 
have prescribed rules in this regard. 

Now, it is necessary that we shall assume as 
an obligation and a rule of life, what we feel to 
be our duty. If no system is practiced, other 
duties pressing about us will crowd upon this, 
until frequent will be the days without prayer. 
It is wisdom to specify the number of times and 
the Jioitrs each day when we shall go before 
God, and let nothing prevent. Better let com- 
pany tarry, and pleasures delay ; better let the 
body hunger and lack apparelling, than the soul 
fail to commune with God at its accustomed 
hour. Here is our daily food, we shall pine 
and grow sickly with irregular diet. The hour 
devoted to the closet duties is sacred, conse- 
crated time ; it belongs to God and the soul, 
and we have no right to use it for any other 
purpose, unless seclusion is wholly impractica- 
ble. O, that every professed Christian felt the 
force of this truth — how many sadly neglected 
closets would be visited, and how many weak. 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 59 

inefficient professors become strong in the 
Lord. 

But there are other times than these when 
we should pray. In the midst of trial and per- 
plexity extreme, when we know not what to do 
or which way to turn for relief: in times of loss 
of health or property, we should be much in 
prayer. In bereavement, when the o'ercharged 
heart is bursting for very grief; when earth 
looks dark and heaven bright ; when our grasp 
upon the world is loosened and we turn instinct- 
ively to the cross ; O, then is the time to pray, 
how near Heaven to such a soul, and joy and 
gladness is then to be found in the place of 
prayer. And beside there are times when the 
Spirit prompts to prayer ; when we feel urged 
to it ; when we are restless and unsatisfied with- 
out it; when we feel just like it: this is a 
glorious time to pray. Then it is we lay hold 
on strength and our name so long Jacob is 
changed to Israel, because as a Prince we pre- 
vail with God. 



l6o LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

The Saviour adds a motive to the command, 
that is in itself full of significance : '^ Thy 
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee 
openly'' As if the blessing there received, the 
light and joy, the peace and salvation which 
must ever flow from communion with God, 
were not sufficient inducement for so little sac- 
rifice, for such a slight test of love and obedience. 
He promises an open reward. Knowing our 
frailty, He tenders more encouragement and 
promise, while He enjoins service and devotion. 
Blessed Saviour ! how full of love and mercy 
to an ungrateful world : as if the privilege were 
not sufficient He adds the inducement of open 
blessing as a reward. 

But what is this '' open reward ? " Go into 
that Christian assemblage. Listen to testimony 
from the friends of Jesus. Many speak, but no 
visible emotion ; all else is quiet as the house 
of death. Intelligent, liberally endowed by 
nature and acquirement, and yet all is cold 
and rational. Sentiments beautiful and strong 



A BROKEN HARP. l6l 

are expressed, but all is emotionless and unim- 
passioned. But hark ! a voice is heard telling 
of the great salvation. It comes- from a timid, 
shrinking female — unendov/ed, illiterate and 
obscure, one of Christ's little ones. With tones 
of pathos and words of power that audience is 
enchained, and the eloquence of a heart made 
pure, and of lips touched with holy fire, melts 
and subdues, sways and controls that mass of 
mind, until the formal are aroused to thought, 
the backslider trembles, the sinner feels the force 
of truth, and saints shout aloud for joy. Why 
this difference ? This power with men is the 
open reward of much secret prayer. 

Come again to that assembly met for prayer. 
Men of high social position, of literary fame 
and scientific research mingle with the artisan 
and humble poor. Prayer ascends, but all is 
marble coldness, no visible result. The fire on 
the altar burns dimly, the holy censor lies 
smoulderingly without perfume, the breath of 
God comes not reviving its decaying life; a 
11 



1 62 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

deathly slumber reigns, and a form, a semblance 
of life is all that speaks of true devotion. The 
prayers are said, and the hour to part approaches. 
But from yon corner audible sighs and groans 
are heard, such as only the Holy Spirit can 
inspire; detached ejaculations and increasing 
supplication follow. Listen ! That heart is 
getting hold of God ! That soul knows the 
way to the throne ! Soon the earnest, length- 
ened cry is heard, '' I zvill not let thee go unless 
thou bless us." Ah ! it is the cry of one who 
finds no medium between a friendly access at 
the throne of grace and the agonies of the low- 
est hell. Surely that man has audience with 
Deity ! Words come from those lips which 
they would never dare to utter but for the 
inward intercession of the Spirit; words of 
determined entreaty, of unyielding import. 
And now has it come to pass that '' the king- 
dom of heaven suffereth violence and the vio- 
lent take it by force." Hear him as faith 
enkindles, see as it fastens upon the immutable 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 63 

word, that word which is pledged to answer 

prayer. Surely he will prevail ; all heaven is 

interested in the issue and awaits the result. 

Now self-desperate he fastens, clings to the 

word, and — 

" Faith, mighty Faith the promise sees, 
And looks to that alone ; 
Laughs at impossibilities, 
And cries, it shall be done ! " 

And quick as thought the baptism of power 
descends. Strong men bow themselves, and 
hardened hearts melt like wax before the flame. 
Ah ! the philosophic in their prayers have tried 
to fly, but in this humble prayer the believer 
is carried away by the Spirit Why is this ? 
The power to prevail with God is the ^^ open 
reward " of much secret prayer. 

Note you that man, so calm and self-possessed, 
patient under injury, bearing the infirmities of 
the weak ? Or him to whom lean and haggard 
poverty comes in at open door, '^rejoicing 
alway and in every thing giving thanks ? " Or 



164 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

he upon whom disease fastens and with length- 
ened train of ill takes up its abode within his 
dwelling, with heavenly sweetness in his tone, 
and gladness and joy beaming from his eye and 
mild submission reigning in his heart ? Hear 
you him who follows the loved ones of his heart 
and home to the village of the dead, exclaiming, 
*^ The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken 
away, blessed be the name of the Lord?" Do 
you wonder at these scenes ? They are true 
to the philosophy of the Bible. They are sim- 
ply the *^ open reward " of much secret prayer. 



A BROKEN HARP. 165 



LIGHT AHEAD. 

T S it not glorious that there is coming to be 
^ such a wonderful freedom, simplicity and 
earnestness of worship, — that the stiffness and 
preciseness, and coolness of later years, seems to 
be vanishing away : and instead, a zeal, a fresh- 
ness and power that we have long prayed for. 

The war has had the effect to break up the 
conservative element in everything. Anything 
to succeed now must be positive and intense, 
Tameness, and dullness, and half-heartedness, 
are among the things that were. A man to 
succeed now must be a live man — he must be 
restlessly active, all absorbed in his object, and 
pursue it to the extreme. And especially the 
churches must awake, or a tide of death, such 
as we have never known, will set in upon us. 
The national mind and heart has been so stirred, 



1 66 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

that to meet its wants as it changes its object, 
the church must bring forward something as 
intense, as absorbing, or the world will fill the 
vacuum, and spirituality die. 

For the last twenty years the world has been 
assimilating the church to itself. Instead of 
being the salt that preserved the world, the 
world's putrefaction has been overspreading the 
church ; instead of christians stamping the world, 
it has been placing its satanic mark upon them ; 
instead of the church making aggressive move- 
ments upon our enemies, they have stealthily 
taken possession of our forts and arsenals. This 
is seen in our modes of worship, in our sleepily 
uttered prayers, and proxy praises, and senti- 
mental, metaphysical, moon-struck theorizings 
from the pulpit. Our weakness and imbecility 
is fearfully apparent. Who pretends that the 
singing of many of the sanctuaries of the land 
is worship ? Who avows that essays without 
much reference to Christianity, or the Cross, 
save a text for a motto, is preaching Christ ? 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 67 

Who will claim that prayers, having in them 
none of the elements of sincere confession, sup- 
plication and intercession, are ever wafted to the 
mercy seat ? And wherever this prevails, as a 
direct result, the lives of church members pro- 
claim a Gospel robbed of power. They are 
weak like other men, and live like others. This 
is terrible, and yet it is terribly true. Every 
denomination is involved in this responsibility. 
All have catered to the world ; all have pre- 
sented a mutilated Christianity, — a sugar-coated 
Gospel ; all have adjusted Bible truths and Bible 
precepts to the views of the time-serving and 
world-loving. 

Our prayers and praises have been regulated 
to suit velvet ears and refined tastes. The ter- 
rible denunciations against sin have been hidden 
by flowery wreaths and gilded scabbards. Sinai 
has ceased almost to thunder, and Calvary to 
groaiT, and Parnassus has reared its tiny height, 
and we have gaped and stared at its wonderful 
magnitude and seeming power. 



l68 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Christ, a risen, //z//;/^ Christ is seldom seen. 
He is entombed. The stone at the door of His 
sepulchre is very great. Even those who have 
known His resurrection power, many of them 
have gone so far from him, as not to know 
whether it is the risen Clirist, or the gardener. 
Others have seen his tomb, and the hnen clothes 
folded, and have heard the angel say, '' Fie is 
not here, but is risen," and they have gone and 
proclaimed the glorious news, but how few of 
these ever have seen Him : how few ate and 
talked with Him, received him into their houses 
and felt his risen power ; how few have obeyed 
his words, and tarried in Jerusalem until they 
were endowed with power from on high. 

But thank God, there is a lifting to the cloud, 
at this ''evening time there is light." There is 
manifest feeling that sometliing must be done to 
meet the demands of the times. Now we seem 
to be on the eve of a zvidespread, thorough^ Bible 
Revival. God appears to be about to wipe off 
the reproach of his cause, — to prove there is 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 69 

power in the Gospel, that is adapted in its 
strictness and unity, to these and all times, — 
that he is about to draw the line of distinction 
between him that serveth God, and him that 
serveth him not. I believe that the gods, edu- 
cation and talent^ at whose shrine the Church 
has worshipped, and to whom it has called with 
loud and clamorous voice, Avill be measurably- 
dethroned, and Piety have a hearing from our 
pulpits. Parnassits must sink and Calvary 
rise again in sight of all the people. I believe 
the tide is turning, and that our people will 
again demand a Gospel ministry, and that talent 
and education will take their subordinate posi- 
tion, and piety reign instead. 

O, when the priests shall themselves believe 
and put salvation on — when they that minister 
at the altar shall have clean hands and pure 
hearts, we may look for such a rising of the 
Church — such a changing of her garments, 
growing whiter and whiter, and meet to be 
presented to the Lamb, ^^ a holy Church with- 



lyo LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

out spot or wrinkle or any such thing," we 
shall realize the onrush of salvation in such 
power, as to sweep formalism and death before 
its resistless tide. God grant we may learn 
wisdom and be taught by the Spirit. 



A BROKEN HARP. 171 



GOLDEN WEDDING. 

WE give you joy this day so festive, 
This day golden, rich and rare. 
Though past with you Ufe's springtide freshness 

And its summer hours of care. 
Robed in autumn all its foliage, 

Falling are its faded leaves : 
Still we come with joy to greet you 
For the harvest garnered sheaves. 

Clustering near you is the fruitage 

God has given — love's mutual care. 
But the ripest to his mansion 

Early garnered — waiting there. 
On you still from countless sources 

Golden blessings daily shed : 
Still with smiles and hearts of gladness 

Life's declining pathway tread. 



172 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

And though comes apace Hfe's winter, 

Sealing up its streams of joy, 
Though the golden sands are lessening 

And the sun in western sky — 
Yet, in winter violets blossom, 

'Neath the ice is flowing tide. 
All the fallen sands are counted, 

Setting sun has mellowest light. 



Fifty yea7's I each hand enclasping, 

Keeping step along the way, 
Bearing burdens for each other. 

Turning darkness into day ; 
Fifty years, in every Vv^eather, 

Side by side in calm and storm. 
Clinging closer, closer ever. 

As the beating storms come on. 



Ah ! what memories, rich and golden. 
Gather round this festive hour ; 

Memories, too, of grief and sadness — 
For, like all, you've felt their power. 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 73 

May the coming days now brighten 

With the hope of joys to come, 
Free from care and sorrow, brighten 

All your journey to the tomb. 

Ye stand not now in bridal vestments 

To pace anew life's journey o'er ; 
But, hand in hand, are calmly waiting, 

Looking to the other shore ; 
Waiting, listening for the boatman 

As he comes with plashing oar : 
Waiting for the Master's calling, 

And your mansion evermore. 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 75 



COVETOUSNESS. 

/^0VET0USN£!SS is not only a prevailing 
^-^ sin of the age, but of the churches. We 
are accustomed to define this term as applying to 
hoarding ; to that miserliness which loves money 
for its own sake, and amasses it for very love 
of the glittering treasure. But this is not the 
covetousness of Scripture. Translators of the 
original texts assure us there are three distinct 
meanings to the words covetous and covetousness, 
and t/u'ce only. The covetousness which refers 
to the miser, is nowhere in the Scriptures, and 
can be found only in the Apocryphal writings. 
The first rendering is '* a man greedy of gain ; '* 
next, '^ one who always desires to have more ; '' 
and the last, ''a lover of money." Other sins 
which are described in the same catalogue with 
this are so appalling, that we instinctively shrink 
from them, and affirm strongly that they are 



176 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

incompatible with the Christian character ; but 
this, so general, so universal, in its application, 
is allowed to pass as applied only to the miser 
in the strong sense of that term. But this is 
not the intent of the Holy Ghost. 

The Old-Testament record down to New- 
Testament times, from Balaam to Judas, pre- 
sents a panorama of guilt and crime, the 
legitimate offspring of this sin, so appalling, so 
fearful, that the heart revolts as each changing 
scene depicts the duplicity and death. Some 
of the blackest crimes upon record are trace- 
able to this single cause ; not miserly love of 
gain, but a simple love of money. Need we 
cite them ? The history of Balaam, Achan, 
Gehazi, the long line of Israel's unjust judges 
and lying prophets, were living commentaries 
on the awfulness of this lust. Our Saviour, 
while upon earth, met and confronted it at 
almost every step. It was everywhere around 
him, throwing obstacles in his pathway, and 
keeping the masses from him. The terms of 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 7 7. 

^iscipleship so struck a fatal blow at avarice, 
cupidity, and the love of gain, that but few fol- 
lowed him. When it was understood that his 
kingdom was not of this world, then many 
walked no more with him. When he cried, 
'' Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not 
all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple," 
then many returned to the world again. The 
rich young man went away sorrowful ; for he 
had great possessions. The ungodly traders in 
the temple were practical lovers of money ; and 
Jesus drove them out, as unworthy a place 
among the people of God. 

But it most displays its hideousness, making 
its own features more frightful and its character 
of blacker hue, by begrudging the three hun- 
dred pence of spikenard as a testimonial of 
honor to the Nazarine. Yea, more : as if to 
intensify guilt, and heighten horror, it betrayed 
and delivered to crucifixion the Lord of glory, 
the divine Jesus ! Can we add another word ? 
12 



178 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Is it needful to show it classed among the most 
fearful and awful sins of our depraved nature ? 
Turn we, then, to the writings of the apostles. 
Frequent are the mentionings of it with crimes 
of the darkest hue, with those which are the 
most degrading; but the most fearful exhibit 
of its association by the inspiration of the Holy 
Ghost is in i Cor. vi. 9, 10: '^ Know ye not 
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the king- 
dom of God ? Be not deceived : neither forni- 
cators, nor adulterers, nor abusers of themselves 
with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor 
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall 
inherit the kingdom of God." What a cata- 
logue ! — and what a significant association ! 
Penned by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, 
the lover of money is placed in the midst of a 
procession of God-resisting and Heaven-daring 
criminality ; with the thief behind him, and the 
drunkard before him ! Say ye that they are 
unequally yoked together ? God thus classes 
them, and we dare not divorce them. 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 79 

And is this true ? Is ^' the man greedy of 
gain," or him ^^ who always desires to have 
more," or he who is a ^^ simple lover of money," 
thus scripturally regarded, and among those 
who shall not inherit the kingdom of God ? 
Alas ! if this be so, then are the hopes of thou- 
sands baseless, and the judgment-scene will 
wring millions of hearts w^ith anguish. 

How universal is this greediness ! how general 
this love ! We meet it everywhere — in the 
marts of trade, and in the family circle; in 
shops of artifice, and fields of agriculture; in 
our temples of science, and halls of commerce. 
It even stands in our pulpits, and sits in our 
pews. It draws nigh to God with solemn ser- 
vice, and is present at his table. It obtrudes 
itself in the place of private devotion, and 
stalks abroad amid active charity. It is ever- 
present and all-powerful. It forms character, 
and controls acts. It dethrones God in the 
hearts of his children, and exalts Mammon as 
the supreme good. It so absorbs, by its devo- 



l8o LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

tion, thousands of the professed disciples of 
Christ, that they cannot be faithful to their 
Lord. It so permeates their entire being as to 
exclude the graces of the Spirit. Time is 
spent only to amass fortune, intellect employed 
to devise successful schemes, and the heart 
absorbed with love of the world, so that little 
time, talent, or affection, remains for Jesus. 
Conscience is silenced by an occasional act of 
devotion, or the habitual sustainment of the 
ordinances of piety, and all else laid upon the 
altar of this Mammon-god. Blessed Jesus ! 
how thou art wounded in the house of thy 
friends ! Why, but for this world-loving devo- 
tion, is the angel of mercy hindered in bearing 
the everlasting gospel to the ends of the earth ? 
Why, but for this, do we not see the speedy 
triumphs of the cross ? Why, but for this love 
of money, do we hear of '^ burdens " and 
• '' sacrifices " in the cause of Christ ? How 
much is given for adorning, equipage, style, 
luxury and extravagance ! and how little for 



A BROKEN HARP. I5l 

the Master ! Alas ! thy cause is languishing 
when miUions profess to love it, and thy ban- 
ners forsaken by many who were enrolled upon 
them. Thousands, who bless themselves that 
they are not like other men, will for this cause 
be among those who with pale lips shall inquire, 
'^ Have we not prophesied in thy name, and in 
thy name done many wonderful works ? " and 
to whom it shall be said, '' Depart from me ! '* 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 83 



W 



THE TIMES. 

E live in a wonderful age, and an age 
of wonders. Science and the arts are 
making rapid strides, and he who keeps pace 
with the times must be active, every nerve, 
muscle and hmb, stretched to their utmost 
tension. The Californian's thirst for gold may 
be gratified by a few months' labor, while in 
the accumulation of wealth, the slow, patient 
toiling of years has become comparatively un- 
necessary. To-day a beggar, to-morrow a 
millionaire ! The stage coach has been sup- 
planted by the rail-car, and the lurid glare of 
lightning transmits messages of business, love 
or woe, to all parts of the land. Progress is 
the watchword of the age. Schools, academies 
and colleges, are springing up, like Jonah's 
gourd, in a single night, and the means and 



184 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

appliances for general intelligence are constantly 
increasing. Men of large hearts and open 
hands devise and sustain liberal things, while 
the great heart of the people pulsates with 
increased velocity as it sees the glorious '^ good 
time coming," when ignorance shall be banished 
from the land, and science and the arts hold 
undisputed sway. # # * # 

Error, too, is on the alert, plying all her ener- 
gies to defeat the triumph of truth. Taking 
advantage of the rush in the race of progress, 
when men, in breathless haste, stop not to 
examine closely or discriminate wisely, she pre- 
sents her poisoned chalice to every lip. The 
day of sober thinking and sound reasoning has 
given place to noonday dreaming, and wild, 
incoherent babbling, and the landmarks of reli- 
gion, morals and politics, which have been 
planted by Christian and enlightened statesmen, 
are violently assailed by enthusiasm and wild 
speculation. 

Ism succeeds ism. Now she portrays the 



A BROKEN HARP. 185 

promised land, and points her votaries to Utah 
in the desert, as the Eden of their hopes, the 
Beulah of their hearts. Multitudes take up 
their hne of march, and, hke the Israehtes of 
old, leave for this modern land of Canaan. 

Again, she comes arrayed in robe of spirits 
bright, and offers to open communication 'twixt 
earth and heaven. With sweetest tone she ex- 
claims, ^^ Are they not all ministering spirits ?" 
and comes to earth to bring messages from the 
spirit land. Hearts rent with anguish at the 
sundering of friendship's ties, and the most 
touching affinities of earth, listen with joy to 
such welcome intelligence, and hasten to receive 
tidings from the loved and lost. Surely Folly 
has become full grown, and Imposture flour- 
ishes in verdancy ! 

Never was there a time since the world began, 
when the wonder-loving and curious could so 
revel in astonishing delights. One vagary suc- 
ceeds another, until the poor deluded victims, 
struggling amid the eddies and whirlpools of 



1 86 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

delusion, are wrecked, forever wrecked, upon 
the rocks of hopeless despair. 

The press, too, pours upon the world floods 
of publications, breathing death. Infidelity^ 
assuming the form of truth, wields this mighty 
power, to the propagation of its soul-destroying 
literature, distilling death in all ranks of society. 
# # # Fiction, in garb of loveliness and 
beauty, goes beside all waters, and pollutes the 
stream, hangs on every tree its poisonous, soul- 
ruining fruit, and fills the atmosphere with 
perfumes that lull the senses to deathly repose. 

Onward, onward ! is the march of the hosts 
of Evil, and soon the conflict between truth and 
error will ensue. The world is rapidly verging 
to mighty contest. Is this a time for the church 
of God to be asleep ? Shall '^ the children of 
this world be wiser than the children of light ?" 
Are we ready for battle, girded with panoply 
divifie — having on the whole armor ? 

The open and avowed design of the church 
of God is the salvation of the. world. And 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 87 

though, since the dawn of the Gospel dispen- 
sation to this hour, we hear the taunt of the 
scoffer, '^What do these feeble Jews?" still, 
glorious has been her onw^ard march, and 
mighty the results of her efforts. In her early 
history, her strides were more vigorous and 
rapid, for from a few fishermen, in less than 
three centuries she planted her foot upon the 
throne of the Caesars. And though frequent 
have been her declensions, still never was there 
a period when there was not some who had not 
bowed the knee to Baal. In vain the edicts of 
Kings and Emperors, in vain was the rack con- 
structed, the fagots gathered and the fire kin- 
dled ; there was always yet another heart so 
consecrated to Christ as to be willing to follow 
Him to prison and to death. 

That now everything favors the triumphs of 
the cross, is not the enthusiastic day-dream of 
an excited fancy or of deluded fanaticism, but 
sober reasoning, founded upon the word of God. 
Was every department of the Church sustained, 



1 88 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

as di7'ectly leading to the conversion of souls — 
were the author, editor, and publisher, so con- 
secrated to Christ as to have the one desire and 
design, to glorify God in the direct salvation of 
sinners — did he, who ministers at the altar, 
always preach Christ Jesus the Lord, and him- 
self his servant, knowing nothing among his 
people but Jesus and him crucified, the pulpit 
never made to utter moral essays and dry theo- 
logical discussions, but to be the armory whence 
come the living, breathing, burning truths of 
God's Word ; never compromised, but always 
maintaining its true dignity, devoted to its one 
work, the direct salvation of men — did the 
class-leader always feel his responsibility, and 
the official boards act for God and his cause, 
independent of personal or relative results — 
did the Sunday school teacher labor to bring 
the young flock to the fold of Christ, as an 
immediate and certain fruit of effort — and was 
the wealth, the talents, the time of those who 
are called Methodists, held subservient to this 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 89 

one object; then should we soon reahze all that 
we have described. 

But yet, the times are hopeful. The character 
of the literature of the Church is not among 
the least favorable indications of a glorious 
advance. Its great variety and increasing 
demand is a source of devout gratitude. Our 
family of ^'Advocates," with their cotempora- 
ries, stamping weekly their impress upon a 
million hearts ; our Monthlies, breathing the 
hallowed influence of religion over truths varied 
and mysterious, imparting to thousands a sacred 
charm to the very name of Christianity ; our 
Tract publications, scattering leaves, as the 
winds of autumn, which are for the healing of 
the nations ; our Sunday school press, sending 
forth numberless messengers of truth and mercy, 
which go breathing the mild authority of heaven 
over countless households ; all this is a power 
mighty, almost omnipotent, for good. 

And then our standard works — works un- 
equalled in all the world for sound theology 



1 90 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

and beneficial tendencies, works which will live 
while time lasts, and daguerreotype their im- 
mortal sentiments upon millions yet unborn ; 
our miscellaneous publications, multiplying as 
the sands upon the shore, causing the Christian 
heart to pulsate with holiest joy ; biographies 
of holy men and women, recording their con- 
flicts and their victories, telling how they fought 
and triumphed, how fields in their day were 
won ; numberless essays urging on to mightier 
effort and increasing power — all combined are 
moving the world. 

An increased spirituality is observable in this 
department, more especially, ^' The Central 
Idea," causing hearts to pant for one thing : 
'^ Christian Purity," firing with zeal and deter- 
mined resolve. '' The Tongue of Fire," infusing 
an unquenchable desire for Pentecostal times, 
''The Gift of Power," impelling to energetic 
onsets, to the taking of the kingdom of heaven 
by violence, '' Duties' Tests and Comforts," lay- 
ing the keen edge of truth alongside the heart, 



A BROKEN HARP. I9I 

and binding up its wounds; all these, with 
numerous others, are moulding the very heart 
of the Church into the primitive stamp of Bible 
Christianity. 

And then Caughey's rapidly multiplying list, 
causing ^' Showers of blessings from clouds of 
mercy," and Mrs. Palmer's inestimable works, 
scattered throughout Christendom, silently 
swaying millions by their exhibit of the ^' Way 
of Holiness." O, if ever, in the history of the 
Church, Zion should cry out and shout for joy, 
it is now ! All through her borders there is an 
inquiring for the old paths, a coming back to 
primitive simplicity and power. The great 
heart of the Church -is being stirred. Revivals 
are more frequent, extended, and lasting, and 
energy is being diffused throughout her majestic 
form. 

Now, active, earnest laborers are in demand 
— men of might and principle, who will sacri- 
fice all for God ; men of a determined will, 
uncompromising, unyielding; who, seizing the 



192 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

standard of the cross, will rush on death, rather 
than yield a principle or usage that advances 
the triumph of truth. Women are needed like 
the Marys, close by the cross, early at the 
sepulchre, and first to proclaim a risen Jesus ; 
like Anna, daily in the temple, praising God, 
and like Dorcas, active in all the benevolent 
designs of the Church and humanity. Men 
and women are required who have laid their 
property upon the altar of God, to be used first 
for his service ; their time, causing everything 
to bend to the advance of Christ's kingdom ; 
their talents, sacrificing all ambition save that 
which is associated intimately with the cause 
and cross of Christ. 

When the mass of Christians shall thus put 
on strength, then will Zion arise as brightness, 
and her goings forth shall be as the morning, 
and error and infidelity shall flee before the 
light of truth, and all men acknowledge, God is 
in the Church, 



A BROKEN HARP. 1 93 



LATENT POWER. 

^T THEN in the days of Moses the seventy 
^ ^ elders were summoned to appear in the 
tabernacle, to be endowed with the Spirit as a 
qualification for office, Eldad and Meclad, two 
of the seventy, for some unknown cause, came 
not into the tabernacle, but remained in the 
camp, and when the Spirit came upon them, 
they prophesied there. 

When this was reported to Moses as an 
irregularity, the reply of the great Jewish Law- 
giver was, '' Would God that all the Lord's 
people were prophets, and that the Lord would 
put his Spirit upon them." 

Every close observer of the movements of 
Zion for the past few years, must see that the 
Eldads and Medads of the Church are rapidly 
multiplying. God is putting a pressure upon 
the masses to labor for him as never before. 
13 



194 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

In time past the active spiritual labor of the 
Church has been performed by a select few, of 
age and talent, and a lengthened experience 
such as judged sufficient to qualify them to be 
especially prominent in working for Jesus — and 
the Church has been slow to learn that it is 
equally the privilege of every disciple of the 
Master to be an active worker in the vineyard 
of the Lord. 

The Church has been bound and retarded in 
its work by the mistaken theory that a fciv 
must do the work, and the many be edified and 
remain idle. 

But the spirit of religious liberty and religious 
labor, as well as of Christian enterprise, has been 
breaking forth with the many. As the Pulpit 
has broken its thraldom and uttered forth more 
clearly the inspired truth, and summoned every 
disciple to the field, light has been gradually 
breaking upon the masses, and, in obedience to 
the summons, they have taken the field of toil. 
It is coming to be believed and felt that there 



A BROKEN HARP. 195 

are no exemptions from active labor and Chris- 
tian exercise among all the ranks of the disci- 
ples of Jesus, the Lord has a place for the one 
talent as well as the ten, and it must no more 
be hid because it is but one. And the ministry 
is becoming more and more imbued with the 
spirit of Moses, and to let them prophesy, 
whether in the tabernacle or in the camp, if the 
Spirit of the Lord is upon them let them utter 
forth burning words of truth ; whether in the 
ministry or laity, old or young, male or female. 
And God is manifestly putting his Spirit upon 
the masses, as he did upon Eldad and Medad, 
and pressing them to prophesy, wherever they 
are and whoever. And the Church is saying, 
'' Let them work ! " and a perishing world 
demands their toil. 

The Religious Press, disenthralled now as 
never before, is equally potent with the Pulpit, 
and is charged with a responsibility well nigh 
appalling. It can sway and mould the public 
mind as no arithmetic can compute : its power 



196 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

unlimited, its accountability unmeasured. If it 
will daguerreotype God's truth upon men's con- 
sciences, letter his law upon their hearts, as it 
has power, then will a floodtide of righteous- 
ness pour in upon this nation. If, while the 
Pulpit thunders and entreats, the religious Press 
re-echoes its appeals, pressing home, in silent 
but tremendous power, utterances that affect 
destiny and go connected with eternity, then 
shall it be an agency beyond any other to 
increase the number of the elect and diminish 
the count of the lost. 

We hail with joy, and offer thanksgiving for, 
the increasing Unity among evangelical denomi- 
nations. This is a direct sequence of the war. 
A common interest and woe brought in contact 
Christians of every name, and the acquaintance 
ripened into full fellowship, until creeds and 
names are no more barriers to united Christian 
effort and love. 

The Young Men's Christian Associations, 
bringing together on the broad platform of 



A BROKEN HARP. I 97 

Catholicity all evangelical sects in a common 
brotherhood, is a triumph for Christ, and for 
which doxologies of praise ascend to God. 

These associations are essentially Missionary 
in character, and become a nucleus around 
which gather forces, and from which emanate 
influences, powerful to win souls to Christ. 
Thus by this unity God is indicating the great 
fact that His people should cease to war about 
creeds, and formulas, and dogmas, and rituals, 
and unite in the one work to seek and to save 
that which was lost. 

Our Sunday School system, too, is fast 
becoming a Missionary power. There are few 
schools of strength and numbers but reach out 
into destitute localities. The country is waking 
to the work, and remote districts offer fields for 
effort. Our Sabbaths are days of toil to thou- 
sands of the laity, outballancing in some points 
the Pulpit power. 

A startling fact of the times is being made 
. apparent, and is rapidly gaining strength among 



198 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

all Christians, that there is a vast amount of 
latent poiver in the Laity, and it must be devel- 
oped to meet the demands of the age or the 
Church will lose its hold upon the masses. 

Added to this is the growing conviction that 
to be a Cliristian is to be a zvorker : that none 
but laborers receive zvages. God is writing this 
on the great heart of the Church, and she is 
being surcharged with a mission never before 
so fully apprehended, '' What can I do to stop 
this tide of death ? " He is pressing upon the 
individual conscience of the Church, and it is 
being fired with holy purpose and flaming zeal. 

Heretofore the ministry has performed the 
chief labor of the Church. The people have 
expected it — demanded it even — and the 
ministry has been quite content to submit to 
inevitable necessity. It can do so no longer 
and maintain its high position in moulding and 
controlling mind. The intellectuality of the 
age demands of the Pulpit a high type of 
development : it tasks its utmost power. Lee- 



A BROKEN HARP. I99 

turers who concentrate all the thought and life 
of a whole year in a single manuscript and 
repeat it the nation over, have created among 
the people a standard of literary and intellect- 
ual repast, and the Pulpit must meet the want 
or lose its hold upon the intelligence of the age. 
If it maintains its position, then it must be 
relieved in some measure from pastoral and 
other duties heretofore required. There must 
be a relaxing of the demands^ or of some por- 
tion of the labor. God is plainly indicating 
the instrumentality he designs to meet this 
want, by thus causing the heart of the Church 
in its sympathies to reach out after labor, and 
to seek the perishing. 

As the direct result of this pressure, the 
question of how and where to employ Female 
Effort is being discussed in Conventions, Asso- 
ciations and Ecclesiastical gatherings of the 
various denominations, and influences are 
silently working which must emancipate this 
element of power. 



200 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

And why should it not be so ? The fact 
that in places of responsible trust woman has 
not failed to meet the demand of her Station, 
and no one questions her ability, or talks of 
her transcending the bounds set by public 
opinion as her sphere ; that in the fields of art 
and literature she steps with firm and steady 
tread ; that the field of science is open to her 
explorations, and the wealth of classic lore to 
her hand ; that a Jenny Lind or Anna Dickin- 
son appear in the presence of assembled multi- 
tudes, admired and approved : from these facts 
the question presses itself upon the Church, 
Why should it be that in religion alone the ban 
of silence should be placed upon her lips, and 
that it should be considered unwomanly for her 
to take positions of usefulness for God ? 

This question must be met in the spirit of 
the age ; and the bright examples of holy 
women of every name who labored in the Gos- 
pel be added and accepted proof that God 
designs woman for his work. If she may fol- 



A BROKEN HARP. 201 



low in the wake of our armies, binding up 
wounds and blessing the dying, may she not in 
our social gatherings speak comfortable words 
and kind to the perishing, and point the lost 
one to Jesus as his only hope ? 

We bespeak not for her the Rostrum, or the 
Pulpit, but we ask that she become to the laity 
and the ministry a helper in Christ's work. 

The intense earnestness of the age — the 
unparalleled rapidity with which events succeed 
each other, demand that the masses of the 
Church be enlisted in the active work of the 
Lord. The immense interests at stake cannot 
be periled while the work is performed by the 
few. The magnitude of the work and the haste 
required, call aloud for every grade and variety 
of talent in the Church of God — and he is 
causing the Church to feel it as never before. 

And God is not only calling into active ser- 
vice every latent talent and energy of his 
people, but he is causing the masses to feel that 
such is the pressure of circumstances as to 



202 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

demand zeal and entJmsiasin in his work — and 
it is coming to be seen and acknowledged that 
zeal and earnestness in working for Jesus is at 
least as commendable as elsewhere. 

During the late war the enthusiasm of the 
people was a power without which the Union 
could not have been preserved. Had our 
national gatherings been held in the cold form 
of patriotism, had there been no outspoken 
denunciation of treason, no fervid appeal or 
trumpet-toned call to arms : had not the old 
flag, tattered and torn and trailing in the dust, 
been displayed to awaken the spirit of patriot- 
ism and fire the nation, we could have raised 
neither money nor men, and we should now 
have been a divided people and Liberty had 
plumed her wing and left us to anarchy and 
ruin. 

Divine Providence would teach the American 
Church a lesson, and well for her if she listens 
to its voice. A worship of forms will never 
meet the present exigency. The stiffness and 



A BROKEN HARP. 203 

preciseness, dignity and coldness of the past, 
will not meet the present want. There must 
be freedom and power, or the masses will seek 
a stirring element elsewhere. 

When every thing else moves with lightning 
speed, religious exercises and work must keep 
pace, or religion will be left behind as a thing 
too slow for the age. We must have a sim- 
pHcity, a sociality and a fire in our forms of 
worship if we attract the people to us. 

And there must be the free expression of 
religious joy. When it was announced that 
Lee had surrendered his whole army, the tidings 
w^ere received through the whole country with 
the wildest demonstrations of joy. Now, if our 
interest to save the nation breaks forth in such 
enthusiasm, shall Christians have less intense- 
ness to save souls ? If in such demonstrations 
we celebrate our national deliverance, shall not 
the Church be jubilant when rebels come home 
to God ? Henceforth if those who go before 
and those who follow after cry, " Hosanna ! 



204 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord ! " how shall any of those who have joined 
in such national demonstration be able to say, 
'' Master, still thy disciples ? '' 

And in this freedom of worship, the pulpit 
must stamp the pew. We have said the age 
demands of it an intellectuality. But it does 
not demand, neither will it endure, dry 
theological discussions, or metaphysical dis- 
tinctions, or simple parade of creeds and their 
supports. Neither does it require light litera- 
ture sermons, to adjust itself to a romance- 
reading crowd, nor yet a time-serving policy to 
catch in the Gospel net men of wealth and 
renown. What we need is, that it shall be 
highly evangelical, eminently practical and 
intensely fervid. The old doctrines of the 
Cross are adapted to this age, and will prove 
themselves to be the power of God unto salva- 
tion if proclaimed in ^^ demonstration of the 
^ Spirit and with power." Let the Pulpit become 
intense ; a battery charged with divine influ- 



A BROKEN HARP. 20 5 

ence ; let it thunder the law, as well as proclaim 
the promises; let the people hear of Total 
Depravity, and a Judgment to come ; of Re- 
pentance and the conscious witness of the 
Spirit ; let them know that the blood of Jesus 
saves from sin and the love of it, and soon Zion 
shall arise begirt with panoply divine, and go 
forth unto constant victory, and a conquered 
world shall follow in her train. 

And now, who dare not recognize the hand 
of God in thus marshaling the varied forces at 
this critical hour ? O ! if the masses of Christ's 
followers will put on strength, looking for the 
baptism of power, if all these agencies shall be 
employed, and these hidden fires fanned to a 
mighty flame, who shall tell the wondrous 
result, and who shall be able to say how soon 
it will be true that a nation is born in a day ? 
We must adapt all our mechanism to the peo- 
ple. We must keep in close contact with them, 
and then send all through the machinery the 
life throbs of earnest work. We must make 



206 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

soul-saving our life work and its love a passion, 
seek the constant baptism of the Spirit to 
inspire our effort, and the energy of the Holy 
Ghost to make it efficient. 

This divine agency, this holy unction, must 
be in us and work through us ; it must be the 
crowning fitness, the impelling power. O ! 
would a united Christendom thus practically 
demonstrate her mission, what a speedy and 
wonderful revolution in the moral world would 
ensue. Thus waits a perishing world on the 
spirit and movements of the Church, and she is 
being gloriously girded for its accomplishment. 



A BROKEN HARP. • 207 



WOMAN'S WORK AMONG THE FALLEN. 

We come to this chapter with a saddened awe — we 
feel as though we were brought into communion with 
the spirit land. The last words ! O ! how we gather 
up and treasure every syllable that falls from the lips of 
our precious ones, as we go with them down to the 
banks of the River. And even more to be prized are 
the tJi02igJits of the heart, especially when we feel that 
they are the inspiration of the Spirt of God. When those 
thoughts are so in harmony with the mind of Jesus, that 
self can all be forgotten, and love for lost, perishing 
sinners absorb the whole being. 

Such are these ^^ last thoughts ^^ of this dear saint of 
God, and though somewhat fragmentary and unfinished, 
they have a sacred interest, and are added to this col- 
lection with the fervent prayer that the Spirit of God 
will make them '' a word in season.'' 

Fastidious minds may regard them as out of place — 
unreflecting minds may consider them unnecessary, but 
we believe they will tend to correct the mistaken views 
of the former, and awaken the latter to the considera- 



2o8 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

tion of a subject that is pressing itself like a mountain 
upon the heart of every intelligent philanthropist and 
Christian. M. P. 

^T TE offer no apology to the Christian 
women to whom these pages shall come, 
for introducing this subject, for facts stern and 
fearful are gathering thick around us, and w^e 
must awake to meet them. Sin of every char- 
acter should be met in the spirit of our holy 
rehgion and overcome by the power of grace, 
and we present this work that it may share the 
labors and prayers of the women of the Church. 

We do not design in this chapter to speak 
lengthily of the causes of this alarming social 
evil, or portray the wrongs that society inflicts 
upon these helpless ones of our sex, but simply 
to appeal to the Christian women of our land to 
reach forth the hand of sympathy and love. 

That this vice is prevalent and alarming in 
all our cities and large rural tow^ns, assuming 
an organized form, pursued by system and clas- 
sified among the gigantic evils of the times, all 



A BROKEN HARP. 209 

are aware. We come not to portray its vast- 
ness, its numbers reaching thousands in small 
cities even, and the annual deaths counted by 
hundreds in limited localities, the average life 
being only four years. We aim not to hold to 
public gaze the men of our land who are the 
betrayers of innocence and seducers of virtue, 
and who count millions, where our sisters in 
shame number only thousands. We shall not, 
with righteous indignation, shower invective 
upon society that admits the one with welcome 
hand, and brands the other with eternal shame. 
Nor shall we attempt to awaken sympathy 
by sketching the peaceful home — the happy 
childhood — the betrayer's guile. Nor seek to 
palliate their sin by asserting what facts justify, 
that in childhood's home most of these are first 
led astray, and others of the lower class are 
largely pressed by the stern hand of circum- 
stances thus to sin. We disavow all purpose 
to relieve them of the terribleness of their crime, 
or to make their guilt less heinous and fearful. 
14 



2IO LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

But we shall, in tones of earnest pleading, urge 
the women of our land to rescue them from 
their vileness, and restore them to purity and 
love. We know woman has been loudest in 
denunciation, and the touching tenderness of 
her spirit closed to these. She can scarcely 
forgive those of her sex who bring her pure 
character and spotless name into disrepute, and 
unlike the Master, has emphatically said, '' I do 
condemn thee." Because of this, this class 
have been left almost without the circle of effort 
and also that of faith and prayer, left to go by 
thousands down the steeps of death. But we 
believe, and the experience of those who have 
labored bear witness, that peculiarly to woman, 
Christian woman, God commits this work ; to 
her with her loving, tender sympathies, fruitful 
resource and ready hand. We owe it to our 
womanhood that we rescue and wipe off the 
foul blot upon their name, and prove that none 
are so degraded, but deep down, somewhere in 
the nature is still written in legible characters 



A BROKEN HARP. 211 

the pure name of '' Woman.''' These our sisters 
in ruin appeal to us pleadingly, almost hope- 
lessly, and if we turn coldly away, despair with 
raven wing settles upon them, crushing hope. 

But to rescue them is a peculiar and difficult 
work. The utter impotency of human effort 
without the constant vitalizing power of the 
Spirit, can in no work be more apparent. 
Depravity in its darkest and deadliest form is 
to be met with the spirit and genius of the 
Gospel of Christ, and it requires, upon the part 
of the instrumentalities employed, a faith in 
God and humanity quite beyond the ordinary 
range of Christian experience. If there was 
but the one form of vice to be met, the task 
w^ould be less difficult ; but connected with it is 
the long and terrible train of idleness, reckless- 
ness of restraint, love of display, irreverence, 
wrangling, Sabbath desecration, profanity, lying, 
thieving and drunkenness ; all its legitimate 
attendants, serving as so many enfoldings of 
Satan's power, and forming a complicated net- 



212 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

^work of vice, almost inextricable and inter- 
minable. The fact of permanent reform can 
be based only upon a radical change of the 
nature by the power of the Holy Spirit. Iso- 
lated cases of reformation may occur without 
it, but these must have favoring outward sur- 
roundings quite unusual with this class. This 
work demands the '' tittermost'' of Christ's sal- 
vation, and tests severely the faith and patience 
of those who labor. Prayer and faithful deal- 
ing, love and discipHne, law and Gospel, must 
be so combined, as to require the wisdom that 
comes from God alone in their application. 

And this thought brings us to the necessity 
of providing homes for those who would reform. 
They cannot be left amid the influences and 
associations that surround them. Reform is 
impossible where any contact is allowed — so 
do those remaining seek to keep their compan- 
ions in guilt. Temptations in every form assail 
them, and only by a temporary seclusion can 
influences surround them essential to their con- 



A BROKEN HARP. 213 

firmation in a desire for reform. We must adapt 
means to meet their want. And in no way 
can we meet our responsibility but by furnish- 
ing a home. The ordinary Church privileges 
may suffice to bring others, of all classes and 
degrees, to Christ — but they do not ayail for 
them. They are practically shut out from our 
Churches — their altars and privileges. Our 
homes are closed to them, and from every 
avenue of business they are excluded. Society 
rejects them, sympathy and love from the good 
they are strangers to, and their destiny is to 
continue in vileness and die in gloom, except 
Christian zeal provides homes, and Christian 
love invites and urges them to their acceptatjce. 
And why furnish asylums for every class of 
the unfortunate — why send Bibles and mis- 
sionaries to the heathen ; why prosecute benevo- 
lence of every form, and leave this one class — 
of our own sex — coming from our firesides — 
from the teachings of our Sunday schools, and 
lost to all good ? Are these so degraded as to 



214 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

be beyond hope ? Thus spake not the Master, 
but said, ^' Go thy way and sin no more " — His 
work to save the perishing is one. With Him 
there is no distinction ; the pohshed sinner and 
degraded criminal are ahke condemned and ahke 
redeemed, and with His people there should be 
only sympathy and earnest effort for all classes 
of society. This is our mission — we are fol- 
lowers of Jesus, who went about doing good to 
all. If there are those who refuse to seek the 
Gospel, it should be carried to their hearts and 
homes : if so sunken in vice as to be cast forth 
from home influence, wandering and perishing, 
Jioines should await them, inviting entrance. 
Where there are houses of ruin, there should 
be houses of hope ; where there are those who 
decoy, there should be those who save ; hard 
by the steps of death should be placed the 
guides to life. This work is demanded by the 
genius of our holy religion and cannot be 
turned aside, and Christ's Church be guiltless. 
A door of escape should always and everyr 



A BROKEN HARP. 21 5 

where be open, and though all refuse, or are 
unbenefited, still these monuments of Christian 
effort should stand as the brazen serpent amid 
the dying and the dead, stand emblematic of the 
cross, amid the ruins of a fallen world ! 

When homes are provided, women of deep 
religious experience are essential to their suc- 
cessful operation. Love, sympathy, zeal, prac- 
tical sagacity and good common sense combined, 
without personal piety, will be inefficient for 
permanent reform. This work demands an 
intrepid faith in God and humanity, a constant 
dependence upon the Divine Spirit, and inces- 
sant personal effort to secure directly their 
conversion. Depravity so deep and deadly, 
habits so inflexible, and vices so numerous, 
require the purifying blood of Jesus, and the 
instrumentalities must be those of unusual 
religious power. Also natural capabilities of 
strong mental endowment, good personal ap- 
pearance, winning address and a loving, patient 
heart, are more positively demanded in this 



2l6 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

work, than perhaps any other within the circle 
of Christian benevolences. There must be 
marked superiority in almost every regard, to 
secure the respect of those in whom reverence 
and restraint are buried so deeply. The ''hon- 
orable women " of our Churches must accept 
this work. It does not require wealth or social 
position, but deep piety, intelligence and prac- 
tical sagacity. 

We have given some of the reasons for the 
prosecution of this work, and we have pointed 
out the means by which it must be carried on. 
And we ask, do not the disciples of Jesus owe 
it to their Master and to their poor erring sisters 
to make the endeavor at least, to reach these 
perishing ones ? They are among us in vast 
numbers: they come from our homes — our 
firesides — our Sabbath schools, and we must 
rescue them. They appeal to us by their utter 
rejection from society, the hopelessness of their 
condition, the wretchedness of their surround- 
ings. They stretch out their hands to us as 



A BROKEN HARP. 217 

they would to the Master if He was among us, 
and say, '' Save ! or we perish." Shall we heed 
them, or turn coldly away, declaring the attempt 
hopeless, their condition unredeemable ? Shall 
we say God's mercy cannot reach them, or his 
salvation purify them ? Can we do less than 
attempt to inspire hope, proffer help, and with 
tender sympathy point them to the sinner's 
Friend ! 

We said we should not speak lengthily of the 
causes that conspire to give such fearful promi- 
nence to this terrible vice, but we should not 
do justice to the subject, or to the poor victims 
of its power, if we were altogether silent. 

It seems almost sacrilegious for another hand to 
attempt to take up the broken thread, so suddenly 
snapped in sunder. But to one of the sisters associated 
with the beloved writer in the work which had so 
absorbed her time and interest the last year of her life, 
she had expressed a great desire that this article should 
be especially blessed in awakening Christian women to 
a sense of their duty and responsibility in this direction. 
And only the evening before she was attacked with her 



2l8 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

last fatal illness, she conferred with her as to the pro- 
priety and expediency of changing her original purpose, 
and enlarging upon the causes of vice. So deeply was 
she impressed, from her observation and experience, 
with the conviction that very much of the sin could be 
traced back to those who held theniselves guiltless in this 
matter, that she was almost constrained to take up that 
phase of this subject and elaborate it. 

Arrested by the hand of death, and prevented the 
completion of the article, it may not be improper for 
the friend to whom she had so freely communicated her 
thoughts, to indicate some, of what she considered the 
exciting causes of licentiousness among the young 
women of our land. And this is done with the earnest 
prayer that every Christian woman to whom these pages 
come, will regard these suggestions as a message from 
the eternal world, and prayerfully consider what is the 
measure of her responsibility. 

The excessive extravagance, and immodesty in dress, 
of the present day, carelessness of parents in regard to 
the habits and society of their children, indifference of 
mistresses to the wants and the associations of their 
domestics, and the inadequate compensation for the 
labor of young w^omen, were in her opinion the promi- 
nent and prevailing causes that tended to the terrible 
increase of this vice. These thoughts can be taken by 



A BROKEN HARP. 2\g 

every Christian woman to her closet^ and there expanded 
in the presence of God, and if this is done, the dear 
writer of this chapter may be permitted among the 
glorified to rejoice, that her work was not left unfinished. 

M. P. 



A BROKEN HARP. 221 



LINES 



To my precious Friend, Mrs. , who thinks me 

" fooUsh '^ to love her so dearly. 

F in human form the Master's 
Blessed likeness is revealed — 
If His people have His. Spirit, 
Self and deed in Him concealed; 



I 



If amid earth's selfish coldness, 
Some are noble, kind and true ; — 

Ever scattering flowers and blessing, 
Like the early morning dew; — 

If they feed and clothe the naked, 
If they dry the mourner's tear, 

If they raise the vile and wretched 
To a life of holy fear ; — 

If in words and deeds of kindness, 
All this life is gladly given, 

Sweetly breathing benediction, 

Leading many souls to heaven ; — 



222 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

If amid the loving friendships 
Of the Saints along the way, 

07ie is richer, closer, purer, 
Gilded by a heavenly ray ; - — 

If this precious one exhibits 
Jesus' love in word and walk, 

Am I '^foolish " in my fondness 
If I love with all my heart ? 



A BROKEN HARP. 223 



SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR LABOR. 

A BEAUTIFUL illustration of the subject 
-^ ^ of this chapter is that of the Carrier 
Pigeon, which first soars directly upward, and 
then outward to its destination. So the Chris- 
tian should first mount to the throne on wings 
of faith and prayer, and then speed on ready 
pinion to do the bidding of the Master. 

In these days of Christian enterprise, when 
the varied activities of the Church are feeling 
the life-throbs of zeal and earnest effort ; when 
noble minds are planning outgrowths, and lead- 
ing on in aggressive movements for Christ; 
when agencies are recognized and being organ- 
ized, hitherto but partially employed, such as 
the lay element and Christian women ; when the 
divine possibilities of the future are firing hearts 
with an enthusiasm and hope beyond any for- 



2 24 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

mer age; when the bugle blast of '^Work for 
Jesus " rings out bold and clear on every breeze, 
there is danger that our untiring activity and 
intensified zeal shall outgrow the inner impulse 
and hidden life. That like Shemei, eager to 
bear good tidings, many of us will run without 
a message, and so be abashed before our ene- 
mies. 

It is undeniably true that a continuous per- 
sonal effort to do good may be attended with 
the decline of a living, working faith, and an 
outward prosperity with an alarming destitution 
of vitality and power. There must be an indi- 
vidualism in spiritual life commenced and con- 
tinued by secret intercourse with God, else 
there will be life at the extremities, but a grow- 
ing torper at the heart. In spiritual communion 
alone is the hiding of our power. No service 
can be substituted for devotion : first love, then 
serve ; first sonship, then labor. Activity can 
never sustain itself if the vital force be with- 
drawn that propels and animates, it will fall 



A BROKEN HARP. 225 

powerless like a dead arm at our side. A secret 
life with God must energize all duty, as vigor 
to the body must come from the calm and faith- 
ful beating of the heart. All who would effi- 
ciently work for Jesus must obey the Saviour's 
injunction to His disciples and tarry in Jeru- 
salem until they be endued with power from 
on high. 

The fulfillment of prophecy in the baptism 
of fire in the upper room at Jerusalem, was the 
direct result of the use of Heaven-appointed 
means. No work or ministry of love to their 
fellows, no healing of diseases, or feeding the 
multitudes, or raising the dead, could have 
possibly brought to the disciples this holy 
baptism. The opening miracle of the Gospel 
was wrought in answer to prayer. It was the 
ordinary and long-tried way by which Abra- 
ham retained his faith and Enoch w^alked with 
God, that brought the '' promise of the Father," 
the baptism of fire. The simple fact that '' tJiey 
all continued with one accord in making prayer 
15 



2 26 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

and stipplication, with the women,'' is the key- 
note of gospel means, and the grand telegraphic 
communication with the invisible and spiritual. 
It is the visible means of contact with the bat- 
tery of Divine Power, and the only true solution 
of the great problem of the world's conversion 
and the universal reign of Christ. 

No mechanism however perfect, no means 
however exhaustless, no zeal however quench- 
less, or effort however untiring, can be success- 
fully employed without this inner impulse, this 
divine energy that comes from much prayer 
and suplication. 

In these times of a popular Christianity there 
is much of sentimentality in our religion. We 
have a sentimental Saviour, a sentimental Cross 
and make sentimental prayers. A Saviour 
without reproach, a Cross without sacrifice, and 
prayers without a Holy Ghost. The loveliness 
of Jesus the Saviour attracts us ; He has come 
to be worshiped by the throng, and we bow 
before Him in an attitude of devotion. We see 



A BROKEN HARP. i227 

Him in His risen glory, and adore ; we worship 
a Christ on the throne, exalted, glorified, rather 
than the lowly Nazarine — the man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief. How few of us 
follow Him with the twelve and the Galilean 
women, as He goes about doing good, and 
share his sacrifices and reproach. How few 
feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and, in 
ministries of love, bind up the broken-hearted. 
Where are the many who watch by the bed of 
the sick and dying, when it is spread in lowly 
hovels and secluded garrets? or when in the 
haunts of lowest vice the death messenger 
comes to claim its victim, who of us is there to 
point the lost one to Jesus, the sinner's friend ? 
The Saviour of the Bible came down in all His 
immaculateness to the guilty and lost ones and 
ministered unto them, and His true followers 
possess His spirit, follow in His footsteps, and 
worship at the shrine of His self-sacrifice and 
devotion to the perishing. 

We have come to worship His Cross. We 



228 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

bear it upon our persons, and ornament our 
dwellings with its representations. We place 
it high up above the flag of our country, and 
elevate it over our sanctuaries as the insignia 
of our faith. But who of us, like Simon, car- 
ries it when it is heavy, and when the rugged 
steeps are to be scaled, and when to bear it is 
to share its crucifixion ? It is pleasant and 
soothing to bear it in our sanctuaries, to speak 
of its consolations and wondrous power; but who 
carries it to the place of vileness, where it is con- 
temned and trampled under unhallowed feet ? 
It is delightful to talk of its blessedness with those 
who acknowledge and know its saving power ; 
but who takes it to the mansions of the gay 
and opulent, where it is despised and is the 
insignia of weakness and fanaticism ? Who of 
us bears it in all its ruggedness, and in all its 
bloodiness, with its suffering victim extended as 
the only hope of a ruined world ? 

A cross crowned with glory and wreathed 
with victory is not the only cross of the Chris- 



A BROKEN HARP. 229 

tian. A cross despised and rejected is to be 
borne in this age by all who truly follow the 
Crucified. A cross of sacrifices and toils, of 
self-immolation and devotion to others ; a cross 
that involves a peculiar consecration to its inter- 
ests and a sharing of its fortunes. An every-day, 
ever-present cross, that is never laid down or 
borne unsteadily, but raised high in sight of 
all the people, borne in conscious dependence 
upon its divine power, so that, while we bear 
it, it shall bear us, and when it is reproached 
we shall be reproached, and when it triumphs 
we shall share its exaltation. 

We have come to be a nation of worshipers, 
a people of prayer. We bow with the multi- 
tude in lowly attitude and utter the words of 
confession and supplication. We use elegant 
formulas and repeat the phraseology of theoreti- 
cal prayer with self-satisfaction. We believe 
and recognize the general mercy of God — 
He is our Father and we the children of His 
care — but do we apprehend Christ as the me- 



230 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

dium of approach and our present Saviour from 
sin? We pray because we fear, we worship 
because our nature demands some shrine. We 
enter our closets, but the greatest dehght we 
find is the knowledge of the fact that we have 
performed our worship and satisfied conscience. 
We utter the language of devotion ; but have 
we the knowledge of its deep import ? We 
float on a dead sea of words, and hope they 
will bear us to the fountain head. 

The ancient forms of prayer fascinate us like 
the fables of olden time, and the hallowed 
associations of prayer linger about us like loved 
friendships of days agone. We are entranced 
as we float on in our reverie of devotion ; but 
is there not more of poetry than piety, more 
of sentimentality than worship ? We are en- 
chanted by the thoughts of the possession of 
the grace of the Spirit, we imagine ourselves 
saints calendared henceforth ; but when we find 
our darling sins must be sacrificed, do not our 
desires abate and die ? We are good devotees 



A BROKEN HARP. 23 1 

in worship, we perform theatrical devotions, we 
work ourselves up into a state of dramatic 
excitement, and think we have had communion 
with God. Our sympathies have been aroused, 
tears perhaps have fallen ; we have had the 
access of a ready flow of words, our natures 
have been wrought up into an enthusiasm of 
earnestness and power ; but O ! have we come 
down from this state of absorption more like 
Jesus in gentleness and love ? Alas ! our com- 
munion has been an illusion, our prayers dra- 
matic ; we go forth unchanged in character and 
life. No tracery of the impress of the blessed 
Spirit remains upon us, no change of the fash- 
ion of our countenance is visible. We go forth 
to forget our prayers in an hour, and cease to 
remember that we have been on the mount of 
communion. 

We plead and supplicate, we urge and argue, 
we wrestle and importune ; but there comes no 
response from the throne. We wonder at the 
silence ; we begin to doubt God's willingness ; 



232 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

we question the justice of delay. But have 
we reahzed the conditions ? have we met the 
requirements ? do we search within for the 
causes ? Ah ! many of us can answer our own 
prayers ; we can remove with our own hands 
the obstructions ; we can tear away the idols 
that keep us from the mercy seat. 

We long to do good ; we are anxious to go 
into the vineyard of the Master and be num- 
bered among the laborers. We ask God to fill 
our empty hands ; but are we doing the little 
things around us ? We see a heroism in a self- 
sacrificing service ; we look with admiration, 
aye, with reverence upon those who are the 
reapers in the moral harvest field, and long to 
share their labors and successes ; but are we 
faithful in that which is least ? 

Or perhaps we are laboring; we run on 
errands of mercy ; we are devoted to the inter- 
ests of the Church and the calls of humanity; 
but it is not a cheerful service. We do, because 
it IS expected ; we go, because others will not ; 



A BROKEN HARP. 233 

duty compels and conscience will not allow us 
to refuse. But amid our labors we have heart 
misgivings. We talk to the perishing of the 
power of Christ to save ; but do we know He 
saves us ? We speak to them of the bread of 
life for the hungry, and the waters of salvation 
for the thirsty ; but are not our own souls fam- 
ishing for lack of divine sustenance ? We labor, 
but see little or no fruit; we toil, but gather 
few if any sheaves. 

To all such, to whom these pages shall come, 
and any who may be induced to work for Jesus, 
we say, '^ tarry in Jerusalem, until ye be endued 
with power from on high.'' Tarry, making 
prayer and supplication that will not be denied. 
Tarry, in a consecration absolute and eternal, 
and in the exercise of a faith that brings the 
baptism of power, the only efficient preparation 
for your work for Jesus. 

The '' Jerusalem " of the modern believer is 
his holy of holies, the place where alone with 
God, like Jacob at Bethel, he can prevail. 



234 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

Enter now this cathedral of the soul, and on 
its hoHest ahar sacrifice to God. Come with 
the spirit of the motto of the Redemptorists, a 
corps of young Romish priests, ^^ All for thee ! 
O ! Lord; O ! my Jesus ! all for thee." 

Come with a determinateness founded on a 
sense of want, that will not yield to indifference 
or any temptation or spell that may beset the 
soul. Come with such a force of will, that, 
however long delayed, or whatever the states 
through which the soul may pass, whether of 
quiet or agony, nothing shall deter you from 
the one work of getting to the Source of Power. 
Come without a thought of experiment, or an 
attempt, and yielding unless you speedily suc- 
ceed ; but with a resolve foundationed in the aid 
of the blessed Spirit enter this sanctuary, shut 
the door, and in penitence and self-renunciation 
consecrate your all to God. 

Come in Penitence. There has been a painful 
sense of want, a lack of success in labor, a fail- 
ure in measuring up to responsibility, and now. 



A BROKEN HARP. 235 

bowed low before God, under the searchings of 
the Spirit, this want becomes intense, this con- 
scious lack assumes the turpitude and nature 
of sin. The soul is feeling painfully the loss of 
time, talents and means that should have been 
these years actively employed for the Master. 
Hidden things are being made manifest, and 
secret things brought to light. An inordinate 
love of the world, the tendencies and indulgence 
in pride, the lurkings of an unhallowed ambi- 
tion, the workings of unholy dispositions and 
the uprising of an unsubdued will. O ! hold 
your heart up to these searchings ! Keep it in 
contact with Bible truth and the Bible standard 
of heart purity and devotion. Shrink not from 
painful revealments or searching scrutiny, and 
you will soon find your heart softening in peni- 
tence and contriteness. As God shall help you, 
grieve over all your unholiness and lack. Give 
free course to the meltings of the Spirit ; be not 
in haste, but let the rivers of contrition flow and 
the floods of penitence bear you on toward God. 



236 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

That your sorrow be of a godly sort, deep 
and evangelical ; not only welcome the pene- 
trating light, but repel from the soul, by an 
effort of the will in a resolve final and absolute, 
all that conflicts with a life of devotion to God. 
As you do this, with the aid of the Spirit, the 
fountains of sorrow will be stirred to their 
depths, and in a state of passive acquiescence 
and simplicity of soul, you will be prepared to 
enter into a consecration of being and life. 

Perhaps you may not experience the emo- 
tional to the degree described ; your soul may 
be alone with God in deep searchings, but 
attended with little manifestation. There may 
be a silent weighing of heart and life in the 
balances of the sanctuary, a high mental press- 
ure without groans or tears. But keep steadily 
to the one purpose. Hold your heart in its 
hidden chambers, and life in its varied relations 
to the blaze of revealing truth and Omniscient 
searchings, and you will soon ascertain, as if 
spoken from Heaven, what God requires. In 



A BROKEN HARP. 237 

your penitence the blessed Spirit will recognize 
its own fruit and lead you on to the points of 
holy consecration, essential to the reception 
of the grace you so much desire. 

But think it not strange if a high state of 
mental intensity attend the Spirit's work, if you 
pour out your soul in groanings that cannot be 
uttered. Most of the biographies of those who 
were marked for success in labor show them to 
have thus agonized. From Holy Writ the 
examples are numerous. David said, ^^ My 
heart is smitten and withered like grass, for I 
have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my 
drink with weeping, because of thine indigna- 
tion and wrath." Hezekiah poured out his 
soul and said, '' Like a crane or swallow so did 
I chatter, I mourn as a dove, mine eyes fail 
with looking upward, O ! Lord, I am oppressed, 
undertake for me." Paul, in the agony of his 
spirit, cried, '' O ! wretched man that I am ! who 
shall deliver me from the body of this death ! " 

Strong minds are susceptible of strong emo- 



238 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

tions as well as clear perceptions, and God 
designed the emotions to be stirred to the 
depths in the things of grace. The clearness 
of perception, as to the degree of depravity, 
may vary, but there will be feeling proportioned 
to the distinctness of our discoveries of inward 
pollution. The figures of Scripture mean 
something more than an assent to the fact of 
our vileness and a desire for a renewal in 
righteousness ; they speak of dying pangs and 
crucifixions. When one sees God in His holi- 
ness, contrasting his own vileness, he hides 
himself and is afraid. Who can look into the 
burning crater, as it belches forth its fiery flood, 
with steady nerve, or walk over its crested 
mouth without a fear ? And, O ! when Omni- 
science leads us within, when God in His 
holiness bids us look into this great deep of 
sin, this habitation of vileness, this heart deceit- 
ful above all things and desperately wicked, our 
fears must be frozen and emotions dead, if our 



A BROKEN HARP. 239 

whole being be not intensified with agony and 
grief. 

We have portrayed intense desire and agoniz- 
ing penitence. Many persons never experience 
to this degree the intercessions of the Spirit, 
but in a cahn and determined effort yield them- 
selves to God. Thoroughness, however, always 
marks the work of the Holy Ghost. No quiet 
acquiescence of the will, or gentle pleading for 
the coming of power, ever prevails. Depravity 
is too deadly a thing, and Satan too powerful a 
foe to yield easily their dominions. We may 
not glide into this state of entire devotion on 
the unruffled stream of an intellectual effort, or 
through the channel of an immaginative faith. 
Nothing but a binding of the whole being to 
the Cross and expiring there can bring a resur- 
rected life in Christ. 

Frequently in the midst of strong cries and 
tears there comes a spell upon the sensibilities, 
the soul reposes upon a dead sea of quiet, every 
desire quelled, every emotion silenced, while 



240 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

a dreary sense of emptiness settles over us. 
What the Spirit intends we may not always 
know ; but it may be He tests us by this with- 
drawal to prove our determinateness. Borne 
on a tide of emotion we float toward the object 
of our desire with comparatively little will-pur- 
pose, and God proves us to see whether the 
bare knowledge of our want shall urge us to 
the atoning blood. We may be attaching a 
significance to our wrestlings that belong only 
to the intercessions of the Spirit, and He with- 
draws its aid, leaving us little save the convic- 
tion of our need. Just here many become 
disheartened and yield the striving. While 
thus severely tested you should guard against 
a listless inactivity, and stir up your soul to 
take hold on God. Not long shall He delay 
to come to your aid, and your unalterable pur- 
pose proven, shall be the precursor of the speedy 
coming of the blessing and grace. 

And now with the fixed resolve to be wholly 



A BROKEN HARP. 24I 

the Lord's, and with a heart broken in peni- 
tence — 

Come to Him in Self-Reminciatioii. The 
natural heart is a great deep ; who can know 
it ? Self is prominent in all our acts, it per- 
vades all our life with its importance, and colors 
our efforts with its own hue. We estimate our 
character by the narrow guage of self-love, and 
weigh our labors in the broad scales of an 
unbounded charity. But now feeling the 
exceeding sinfulness of our natures, let us cast 
ourselves in self-desperateness upon the atone- 
ment of Christ. We have been so often misled, 
so often flattered into a self-righteousness, made 
to believe ourselves equal in virtue and holiness 
to others, let us now, in utter abandonment 
of all claim to goodness or merit, in the spirit 
of poverty unequaled, and a humility born of 
a knowledge of total depravity and sin, cast 
ourselves at the foot of the Cross. Prostrate 
there, we shall soon see what we must yield, and 
how to make the ofiering. We shall apprehend 
16 



242 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

the meaning of the Apostle when he prayed 
the '' whole spirit and soul and body " might be 
so entirely the Lord's as to ''be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus/' 

Thus, in a consecration of our whole being, 
with him we breathe the prayer for ourselves, 
and soon the ever-present Spirit writes upon our 
hearts the import of those sacred words. 

We come and bring our ''Spirit," the intelli- 
gent, immaterial and immortal part of our 
nature — the "Soul," the thinking, reasoning 
power within us — the "Body," this material 
framework of our being, so " fearfully and won- 
derfully made" and constructed, to be "the 
temple of the Holy Ghost" — all our being y 
including every faculty and power, and make 
of them an entire offering to the Lord for all 
coming time. 

We come exclaiming — 

" Take my soul and body's powers, 
Take my mem'ry, mind and will, 
All my goods, and all my hours, 



A BROKEN HARP. 243 

All I know, and all I feel, 
All I think, or speak, or do, 
Take my heart, but make it new." 

We say henceforth, ^'Whether we eat, or 
drink, or whatsoever we do, we do all to the 
glory of God,'' and from the depths of the soul 
cry out — 

" Here on thy altar, Lord, I lay 
My soul, my life, my all. 
To follow where thou lead'st the way 
To obey thy every call." 

Come in supplications that will not be deitied. 
We have described an intensity of desire, and 
wrestling of soul in connection with the peni- 
tence exercised, and in bringing the will to 
meet the claims of an entire consecration. The 
heart is now subdued and obedient, it consents 
to the guidance of the Spirit and is subject to 
the demands of the perishing. No questionings 
of God's claims upon its love and service. No 
controversy with the written Word in its crosses 



244 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

and self-denials. No shrinkings from the re- 
proaches connected with a life of entire devo- 
tion. It accepts the companionship of those 
who live godly in Christ Jesus, and consents to 
find its highest pleasure in a life of service. 

And now it waits the bidding of the Spirit. 
All meekness, emptied of its own righteousness 
and strength, it looks pleadingly upward. Now 
comes upon the soul the special intercessions 
of the Spirit to a degree all unknown before, 
and sighs and groans are heard such as only 
the Holy Ghost can inspire ; detached ejacula- 
tions and increasing supplications follow. Like 
David, ^' the heart and flesh crieth out for the 
living God." 

Courage ! your soul is getting hold of God ! 
you are nearing the fountain. Now the ear- 
nest lengthened cry is heard, ^^ I will not let 
thee go, except thou bless me." Now it has 
come to pass that '' the kingdom of heaven 
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by 
force." 



A BROKEN HARP. 245 

You come with no plea of merits or good 
works. No argument founded on large capa- 
bilities or prospective usefulness, but simply 
^^ for me the Saviour died'' I am vileness, He 
is purity ; I am weakness, He is strength ; I am 
ignorance, He is wisdom ; I am perishing. He 
is the Saviour. Now it is that helplessness is 
casting itself on Power, and feebleness cling- 
ing to Omnipotence. Infirmity is leaning on 
Strength, and misery wooing Bliss. These holy 
wrestlings are all-powerful and must succeed. 
The highest emergencies will yield to them, 
for the word of the Eternal is pledged to 
answer prayer. 

But we mitst come in the exercise of a faith 
active^ positive and snccessfiil. A failure now 
to apprehend Christ, and all is lost ! What 
though the penitence be sincere and consecra- 
tion perfect, still there must be an acceptance of 
Christ as the great remedy, an acceptance posi- 
tive and conscious. Every thing of interest 
and destiny culminate here, and all that pre- 



246 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

cedes is only preparatory to this great final act. 
Faith is the only condition of salvation ; but the 
several steps to reach it are essential to bring 
the soul in harmony with God's will, and to a 
sense of utter dependence upon the atoning 
blood. Many persons give such prominence to 
faith, as to overlook largely all that should 
precede, and urge the soul to it without the 
necessary preparation. No one can savingly 
believe in Christ without having penitently 
consecrated himself to God ; not in a general 
sense, without apprehension of its great import, 
its claims, responsibilities and crosses ; but 
specifically and consciously. And here we 
opine is the reason why Zion is crowded with 
those who have sought, but never obtained, 
power, and laden with those who thought they 
were cleansed, but whose hearts the blood of 
Jesus never washed. Thus has the hurt of the 
daughter of God's people been healed slightly, 
and Zion burdened with the lame and halting. 
Some mistake, and suppose faith is to believe 



A BROKEN HARP. 247 

the work is done, because, in our judgment, we 
have laid all upon the altar, and, pleading the 
promises, have prayed for the sin-consuming 
fire. Is not this placing as much confidence in 
our judgment as in the veracity of the prom- 
ises ? These are urged to believe the work 
accomplished, though there is a felt absence 
of experience. Infinite Wisdom does not so 
leave the soul in doubt. The blessed Spirit 
ordinarily witnesses at once to His own work. 
Is not love an intense affection, and can its 
possessor be in ignorance of its blessed power ? 
O ! be not content without the hallowed con- 
sciousness that sin is conquered and grace reigns. 
Rest not in a cold philosophical or intellectual 
faith that makes its own deductions and forms 
its own conclusions, that brings no light, heat 
or power ; that reasons itself into the possession 
of this grace, but has a felt experience of want. 
Nor in a dreamy, speculative faith, that brings 
an imagined rest and joy, which the winds of 



248 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

temptation shall sweep away like mists upon the 
mountain side. 

True, saving grace takes the promise based 
on its Infinite merit alone, and clings with an 
undying grasp. It sees, knows and clings to 
nothing but Christ as the atoning sacrifice. 
Here consciously, resolutely, desperately it 
cHngs, believing not that it IS done, but cling- 
ing to Christ it is being done. '' Whatsoever 
things ye desire when ye pray believe that ye 
receive them, and ye shall have them.'' Here 
is the simplicity of faith ! The heart clinging, 
is believing \ the hand reaching, is receiving. 
A belief not merely that God zvill do it, nor 
an intellectual belief that He /ms done it, but 
the positive titterance of the soitl He DOETH 
IT, and surely, then and there, you w^ill feel the 
warm gushing blood of Jesus applied, and flow- 
ing all through your prostrate, polluted soul, 
and the blessed Word will be verified in an 
instant, '' Though your sins be as scarlet, they 



A BROKEN HARP. 249 

shall be white as snow, though they be red like 
crimson they shall be as wool." 

We have portrayed, as God has helped us, a 
biblical faith, and described the struggles of 
a soul in its exercise. But we are inclined to 
the belief that when we come to God with such 
a preparation as is involved in the Penitence 
and Consecration before described, that faith, 
with many persons, is almost involuntary. We 
are so dependent upon some support, so natur- 
ally lean on some object of trust, that when 
these pass from our grasp, when the foundations 
of our hope and strength yield, we imcst, in 
the constitution of mind, cast ourselves on 
Christ. 

We have endeavored to lead those who are 
anxious to know the power of the blood of Jesus 
to save, as the blessed Spirit and Word has 
taught us. We have described a penitence 
attended with agony and tears, a consecration 
involving all our being and its relations, and a 
faith conscious and successful. In this we 



250 LINGERING SOUNDS FROM 

would not lengthen the way to the Cross, nor 
make its path difficult or forbidding. We 
believe, to an honest soul, who desires God 
above every other good, the way is short and 
speedy. The successive steps can be taken with 
rapid stride, and the shadow of the Cross fall 
on every step to its blessed base. No circuitous 
wandering in the wilderness of doubt, or strug- 
gling long with our inward foes is necessary to 
the thoroughness of the work. A penitence 
sincere and softening, a consecration complete 
and final, a faith firm and trustful will bring the 
soul speedily into its Canaan of rest. 

And O ! when love shall reign, when it shall 
be at once the impulse and power of all our 
service ; when it shall send us forth to minister 
and bless with its spirit pervading all, its 
Omnipotence will be the pledge of our success. 
Entering the moral harvest field, and scattering 
the seeds of truth and love, sure as we sow we 
reap, and as we go the harvest will be gather- 
ing thick around us, the reaper shall follow hard 



A BROKEN HARP. 25 1 

after the sower, and the ripened sheaves in the 
garner shall prove us worthy the '' Well done " 
of the Master. 



A BROKEN HARP. 253 



OVER THERE. 

IN that beautiful home over there, 
By the side of the river of Hfe, 
Where the amaranth blooms ever fair, 
Is no sorrow, nor sighing, nor strife. 
'Tis a beautiful place over there. 

The glorified saints over there, 

They once suffer' d and toil'd here below ; 
Now exalted, Christ's triumphs they share, 

Sin, nor anguish, nor death ever know. 

They have gone to their home over there, 
Where the city is glorious and bright, 

And the crowns of the victor they wear, 
And our God and the Lamb is the light. 

In that glorious land over there 

Are the martyrs and prophets of old. 

And our loved ones, all radiant and fair, 
Both the throne and the Lamb now behold. 



254 A BROKEN HARP. 

Soon we'll go to our home over there, 
Join the ransomed and glorified throng, 

Christ's glory and power declare, 

Swell with triumph the celestial song. 

How I long, how I long to be there, 
Reclining by life's crystal stream. 

All fi'ee firom earth's toilings and care, 
Without a veil dimming between. 



fl 



